Nigeria Fa Chief Blasts Falcons After Ghana Draw In Abuja

Ghanaian Elizabeth Addo takes on alcons’ Ekpeyong Ekpo (2) and team mate, Esther Sunday (13) as Dadzie looks on

The Nigerian FA chief Mike Umeh has launched a scathing attack on the country’s female senior national team after Ghana’s U19 side Black Princesses held them to a 1-1 draw  in an All Africa Games qualifier in Abuja at the weekend.

Nigeria are fielded their first national team in the qualifiers but Ghana has opted to play with its U19 side as they seek top rebuild their female national team.

Given the stature of Nigeria’s female national team they were expected to thrash their Ghanaian counterparts who are inexperienced but the Black Princesses dominated the game.

Nigeria FA vice president Umeh described the team’s performance against their Ghanaian counterparts as shameful and unacceptable to Nigerians.

“I feel so bad. This is the least match we expected to draw. Even 3-0 could not have been acceptable. Look at our so called big Falcons they could not beat the small Ghanaians. I am not happy, I expected a win,” he said.

Asked what was responsible for the Super Falcons poor performance, he said the team did not play to instructions and as well committed silly mistakes like the one which resulted in the Black Queens’s equalizer.

He also said that the team lacks skilful players and got easily tired in the second half of the game.

Despite the 1-1 draw which puts the Black Queens in a vintage position, Umeh expressed optimism that the Super Falcons will qualify by beating the Black queens in Accra in the second leg of the qualifier, which comes up in a fortnight.

He explained that the Black Queens will be under pressure to qualify and that will give Nigeria some sort of advantage. Umeh also hinted that the team will be overhauled to give room for better players that will replace the ones that played the first leg in Abuja.

No chance

Reacting to the game, the coach of the Black Queens, Kuuku Dadzie wrote off the Super Falcons’ chances in the second leg in Accra by stating emphatically that his side will beat the Falcons.

He said his side came to Nigeria with a clear tactics – to sit in the rear, soak the Falcons pressure and catch them on the breaks which paid off. He went on to boast that his young side, which consists of the under-20 side that featured in the last World Cup will go places. He praised the Nigerian team as well but advised the Falcons to work on their midfield department.

In the first leg of the encounter played at the Abuja National Stadium between the Super Falcons and the Black Queens, which ended 1-1 apiece, Desiree Oparanozie put the Falcons ahead in the 75th minute while Grace Asare equalised for the Black Queens four minutes later.

Efforts to get the chief of the Super Falcons, Eucharia Uche and members of the Nigerian Football Federation Technical committee to comment on the game were unsuccessful.