AWC: Falcons Thrash Mali 5-0
The Super Falcons of Nigeria this evening thrashed their Malian opponents 5-0 to start their campaign at the ongoing African Women Championship, AWC, in South Africa on a winning note.
The coach Uche Eucharia-led side have the former Female African Football of the Year winner, Perpetua Nkwocha, to thank as she scored a hat trick against the Malians.
Nkwocha’s mesmerising runs and confidence with the ball gave Nigeria the needed impetus to thrash their West African opponents.
Nkwocha opened scoring in the 15th minute of the one-sided encounter, after she controlled the ball in the 18 yard box of the Malians, ran ring around the goalkeeper before slotting in the curtain raiser.
Two minutes later, she capitalised on a loose ball, embarked on another solo run, and took on five defenders before beating them roundly.
She then came face-to-face with the Malian goalkeeper and beat her to score her second goal of the encounter.
As play continued, the Nigerians intensified their search for the third goal and it paid off in the 43rd minute, when hat trick heroine, Nwkocha was left alone in the 18 yard box of the Malians.
A corner kick was taken by Esther Sunday and it found Nkwocha unmarked. She controlled the ball and spun it to the top right corner of the Malian goal post.
The Malians, who seemed overwhelmed by the Nigerians, played most of the first half of the match in their own half as they struggled to contend with the Falcons, who adopted short passes and long thrust to penetrate into their vital area.
This, however, did not yield any result until the Centre Referee, Theresa Sagnoe from Guinea ended the first half.
When hostilities resumed in the second half, a seemingly confident Nigerian team took the game to the Malians again. Mali fell back in their own half with five defenders trying to tame the fire-power of Nkwocha, Stella Mbachu and new entrant, Francesca Ordega, who celebrated her debut with a goal.
Old warhorse, Mbachu also got her name on the scorer’s sheet, concluding the routing of the Malians in South Africa.
Meanwhile, Head Coach of Mali, Moustapha Traore conceded victory to the Nigerians, saying that they lost to a better side.
But he promised to go back to the drawing board and prepare for their next group match against Tanzania, who were beaten 2-1 by hosts, South Africa’s Banyana Banyana on Sunday.
Nigeria are on top of Group A with three points and five goals from one match, while South Africa are second with the same number of points but with a lesser goal difference. Tanzania and Mali are third and fourth respectively on the table.
By Adebobola Alawode
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