WAFCON : Three best and worst performers in Nigeria’s defeat to South Africa :: All Nigeria Soccer

Defending champions Nigeria were defeated by South Africa in the first Group C game of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco on Monday evening by a 2-1 scoreline.

It was a tight game and there was nothing to separate the two teams in the first half as it ended in a goalless draw.

However, South Africa had good statistics and performed better than the Super Falcons in the first half with the Bayana Bayana having 59.6% of the ball possession.

Allnigeriasoccer.com will be highlighting three players who delivered good performances despite the defeat and three others who had a game to forget.

Best Performers

Rasheedat Ajibade : Grew into the game in the second half and was relentless. While execution left much to be desired, one cannot fault the desire to try and grab the game by the neck. Also grabbed one goal back with a close-range finish in the 92nd minute.

Ifeoma Onumonu: Full of running and helped out in defensive transitions. Had to drop too deep many times due to a chronic lack of adequate service. Could have done better in her combinational play but can’t be faulted as the midfield was almost nonexistent.

Michelle Alozie: Energetic performance. Had little effect on the attack due to low quality and average decision-making. Tried to make something happen and one could see her desire.

Honourable Mentions

Vivian Ikechukwu and Francisca Ordega

Both came on and added more pace and urgency. May have done better if they had more time.

Worst performers

Tochukwu Oluehi: A sum-up of her performance was terrible. Didn’t command her box very well, failed to claim too many crosses and almost got sent off for a reckless challenge in the 80th minute.

Rita Chikwelu: Lacked composure and control. Almost wanted to just get rid of the ball by fizzing long passes towards the forwards when there were other options to recycle and redistribute possession available and the best decision.

Asisat Oshoala: Shouldn’t have been on this list because she was badly starved of service. However, she failed to run the channels effectively. Made good use of the little she got but her effort was well saved by South Africa’s goalkeeper.

Honourable Mention

Randy Waldrum

Confused about his set-up. Not a basic 4-3-3 and not a basic 4-4-2. Failed to find a solution to his team ceding control to South Africa.

Sofoluwe Mayowa

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