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Two second half goals gave Canada a 2-0 win over the Super Falcons of Nigeria in Vancouver B.C this morning, in one of the two friendly matches to prepare the Nigerian ladies for the Africa Women’s Cup of Nations, Megasportsarena.com reports.
The hosts started the game strongly but were curtailed by the Nigerians who held out firmly despite persistent pressure from their opponents.
Nigeria would finally wake up in the 28th minute. Having absorbed all that pressure, they did well to send some of it the other way, and that led to the ball finding Rasheedat Ajibade at the edge of the box, where the Nigerian midfielder did well to force a strong stop out of Stephanie Labbe with a strong strike, one destined for the bottom corner.
Not long after, they’d then get a second decent look, as Rita Chikwelu found space to have a go from distance, and while her shot didn’t maybe get the power she hoped, it just tickled off the top of the net, nearly forcing Labbe into a tough save.
There were some things to watch out for, as you did have to be wary of how Nigeria had grown into the game, but given that Canada had plenty of firepower to turn to off the bench, they were probably expecting to rely on that to grab back control of the game, allowing them to put it to rest in the second stanza.
The Nigerian resilience was broken early in the second half as Jessie Fleming opens the scoring with a peach of a shot!
After some nice interplay down the right side, the ball would fall to Rose in a great position inside the box, and from there, she did well to look up and spot a streaking Fleming, who flew into the box at high-speed.
And after that, Fleming would take care of the rest, absolutely thumping the ball with full force, looping the ball over Chiamaka and into the top corner, giving the local crowd what they’d desperately longed for all game long.
Then, in the 63rd minute, Leon would get another great chance, as she’d find herself one on one with goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie, where she’d force a great stop out of the Nigerian keeper, before slamming the rebound off the post. Right after, the ball would then fall to fellow second-half sub, Jordyn Huitema, who would also have a great look at goal, but she’d also fail to breach the net, as she’d be denied right on the line by a Nigerian defender.
But while the chances were coming for Canada, you just couldn’t help but wonder if they’d be made to pay for their lack of finishing.
And Nigeria would remind them of that in the 68th minute, as Payne Oyedupe did well to fashion a solid chance on her left foot, one that would be labelled for the top corner, but luckily for Canada, second-half sub, Kailen Sheridan, would manage to fly across the goal to get a hand to it, keeping her team in front.
Yet, that wouldn’t faze Canada, who would continue to go and try to make things happen at the other end, which would lead to their second goal in the 72nd minute.
First, it nearly came via Leon, as after a great ball in from Beckie, she did well to throw herself at the cross with an acrobatic effort, and she’d make great contact on the attempt, sending it towards the low corner, only finding itself just denied by Oluehi Tochukwu.
But then, on the ensuing corner, Canada would find that goal for real, as Beckie would manage to send in a great floated ball, one that would find Huitema at the back post. From there, Huitema would flick it across the box, where it’d find an onrushing Vanessa Gilles, who’d thump home the ball with authority for her team’s second.
Up Next: Canada vs Nigeria, Monday, April 11th, 2022, 3am Nigerian time, 19:30 PDT (Starlight Stadium, Langford).
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