History repeated itself yesterday at the Accra Sports Stadium in Ghana, where the Super Falcons of Nigeria defeated
Cameroon 4-2 on penalties to qualify for the final showdown of the
2018 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations.
For their triumph over the Indomitable Lionesses, the Falcons have also secured a place in the
2019 FIFA World Cup tournament in France, making them
one of only seven teams worldwide to have qualified for every edition of the World Cup since its inception in 1991.
Nigeria Vs Cameroon
It was a fiercely contested battle just as we’d hoped it would be, and the Lionesses came out prepared to rip their due pound of flesh after years of groundwork. The Falcons had finally met a Cameroon squad that was a match for them wit for wit.
The Lionesses were clear enough already on what they wanted — a win at any cost, and this would drive them to usurp control of the first half of the game, leaving the Nigerian team in a grapple battle for ball possession.
Efforts by Francisca Ordega, Ngozi Okobi, and Asisat Oshoala, were stopped by the well-versed Cameroon keeper, Annette Ngo Ndom, who was not ready to be the reason her side would miss out on another opportunity to reach the AWCON final.
Ndom was a tough nut to crack for Nigeria’s best forwards, and so were the Super Falcon rearguards made up of captain Onome Ebi, Osinachi Ohale and Josephine Chukwunonye.
The first half ended goalless with both sides reviewing their tactical assaults before the restart.
The Super Falcons resumed the second half with their best foot forward, creating more scoring opportunities, however the Cameroon resistance led by Ndom remained tough-as-nails.
The Cameroonians also created good chances, but all their efforts met with the same faith — stopped by Nigeria’s concrete defense, ending the game at 0-0 full-time.
The extra time ended goalless, forcing the game to be decided by a penalty shootout.
The Lionesses missed two of their penalty kicks, while Rasheedat Ajibade, Ngozi Ebere, Oshoala and Ebi all converted their spot kicks to give Nigeria a well deserved 4-2 victory, and qualification for the 2018 AWCON final.
Nigeria will now meet South Africa in an ultimate showdown on
Saturday, December 1, 2018, to decide who will wear the Africa Women’s crown.
See highlights of the Penalty Shootout:
