2024 Olympic Games Qualifier: Nigeria Pip South Africa 1- 0 In Abuja
- 2nd leg holds in Pretoria next Tuesday
Atlético Madrid’s forward, Rasheedat Ajibade scored the solitary goal as Nigeria’s Super Falcons beat their South African counterparts, Banyana Banyana in the 2024 Olympic Games qualifier
The victory saw Nigeria claiming a first-leg advantage in the qualifying encounter played inside the MKO Abiola National Stadium in Abuja on Friday.
In edging past the reigning African champions, the Super Falcons dominated play in the first half and were rewarded when Noko Matlou brought down Chiwendu Ihezuo inside the box.
It was Ajibade who stepped up to beat Kaylin Swart from the penalty spot two minutes before half-time to put Nigeria on the winning path.
However, despite controlling proceedings in the second half, the South Africans struggled to have a breakthrough and are now set to carry the 1-0 deficit heading into the second-leg encounter
Ajibade, who plies her trade in the Spanish Liga, deserves some special recognition after grabbing the goal that separated the two teams on the night
Coming close to her is Banyana goalkeeper Swart who is also worth mentioning for limiting the damage with crucial saves especially in the first half.
On the day, the big loser was Thembi Kgatlana who after being instrumental to Banyana’s impressive showing in earlier rounds of the competition, had a quiet game by her standards except for a late effort that was saved by Nigeria’s goalkeeper Choamaka Nnadozie.
However, the South African fans are upbeat that the usually reliable, Kgatlana could be trusted to pick herself up during the second-leg clash as next on the card for both countries is their battle at Loftus Versfeld in the second-leg encounter slated for next week Tuesday in Pretoria.
Friday’s result notwithstanding, the second leg will be crucial in deciding the team that will make it to the Paris 2024 Olympics whose opening ceremony will take place on 26 July 2024.
