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A brace by Ifeoma Onumonu in the 21st and 56th minutes handed the Super Falcons of Nigeria a 2-0 win first leg win against the Lady Elephants of Côte d’Ivoire, in the final round qualifiers for the 2022 Women’s Cup of Nations, at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja on Friday.
Megasportsarena.com reports that the Falcons were without regulars like Asisat Oshoala, Francesca Ordega and Desire Oparanozie.
Ifeoma Onumonu broke the deadlock in the 21st minute after finishing off from close range off a pass from Esther Okoronkwo inside the box, and she doubled the advantage eleven minutes after the restart as she lobbed the ball over the Ivorian goalkeeper.
Côte d’Ivoire went close to equalizing in the 51st minute but Michelle Alozie defended brilliantly to thwart her efforts, which was followed by a fine save from Chiamaka Nnadozie denied the visitors.
The Ivorians bossed the closing stages of the game but the Falcons defense held firm to see out the encounter.
Leicester City defender Ashleigh Plumptre made her competitive debut for the Falcons and she was the woman of the match in the Nigerian side.
Both teams will meet again on Tuesday, February 22 for the reverse fixture in Abidjan and the winner will qualify for the 2022 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in Morocco.
The 2022 WAFCON holds from the 2nd to 23rd of July, it also serves as qualifiers for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Semi-finalists at the WAFCON will qualify for the World Cup while two more teams will advance to the Inter-confederation play-offs.
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