Super Falcons coach Randy Waldrum says he is proud of how his team played in the first-leg qualifier for the Paris Olympics Women’s football event against Banyana Banyana of South Africa on Friday.
Rasheedat Ajibade’s penalty in the 42nd minute gave Nigeria a slender advantage going into the second leg in Pretoria on Tuesday.
The 67-year-old said his team executed their game plan to full effect and were unlucky to score just one goal during the game.
“I am satisfied. I am proud in the way we came out and displayed confidence from the beginning of the match. I thought we were composed and controlled the match. I will guess the possession was probably about 60 to 40,” he said.
“We minimized their opportunities. I think they had about two chances in the match. I thought we controlled the game. Everything we put in the match I thought we executed very well.
“I thought it was one of our better performances since the World Cup. Having said that, we would have liked to score more goals but overall I am really proud of the performance we put in,” Waldrum added.
Waldrum: I want a repeat performance from Super Falcons in the second leg
Despite the Super Falcons win, there has been talk about how wasteful the team has been since the last eliminator against Cameroon.
Against South Africa, the Super Falcons created some clear-cut chances but failed to convert them as Chinwendu Ihezuo and Uchenna Kanu all had chances to score but failed to hit the target.
Waldrum said he is surprised at those assertions and said his team controlled the game and could have scored more but agreed the finishing can be better.
“Well, I understand it but I was a little surprised to hear the reaction because some said we struggled but I don’t think we struggled in the match at all. I think we controlled the match and we were never really in danger,” he stated.
“I think where we did not perform at our best was finishing. Again, it is one of those things but had we scored a second goal I would have loved it had we got a third it would have been better but even scoring a couple of goals we still have to play the second leg.
“South Africa are capable of scoring multiple goals as well so we still have to go with the same mindset for good results,” Waldrum added.
The Super Falcons will travel to South Africa on Sunday for Tuesday’s clash hoping to overcome Banyana Banyana and qualify for the Olympics for the first time since Beijing 2008.
