Many Sports enthusiasts in the nation’s capital territory, have expressed their great disappointment   over the Super Falcon’s poor performance against their South African opponents at the ongoing 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in Morocco.

Just on Monday night, Africa’s Banyana Banyana of South Africa stunned champions Super Falcons of Nigeria 2-1 in the Group C opening match at the 2022 WAFCON in Morocco.

The result was similar to that of 2018 WAFCON where Banyana Banyana defeated the Super Falcons 1-0 in their opening game.

The result also meant that the South Africans have now recorded back-to-back wins against Nigeria after they defeated the Super Falcons 4-2 in the Aisha Buhari Cup Invitational in 2021.

A cross section of football fans who spoke with our correspondent in Abuja on Tuesday morning expressed their unpleasant feeling over the Super Falcon’s performance.

A public servant, Gladys Ogar singled out Asisat Oshoala for criticism, saying that she failed to bring her A-game into the match and let her teammates down at critical moments in the game.

“Oshoala for me was the worst player on the pitch today. She failed to shine as she missed several clear cut opportunities in front of goal.

As for Ameachi Agbo , a sports Journalist  said that the Falcons were technically as well as tactically deficient and didn’t show enough hunger to win the game.

“It was a lackadaisical performance from a team that had a lot of technical and tactical issues. The Falcons had no playmaker as Rita Chikwelu failed to offer any creative spark in the game and rightly deserved to be taken off.

Expressing his feeling, Olufemi Adedamola, an entrepreneur said it was reality check for the nine-time champions, adding that he was hopeful that they would bounce back from the defeat and perform better as they progress in the tournament.

“The Super Falcons suffered a reality check today against a young Banyana Banyana side who have proven to be a thorn in our flesh in recent times.

“They are the defending champions and the team to beat, but they were brought down to earth by the South Africans, who indeed earned a well-deserved win I must say.

 “The team generally speaking, looked rusty and it’s fair to say their errors in the second half cost them the game.

“I hope they will go back to the drawing board, make the necessary adjustments and bounce back quickly from this defeat just as they did in 2018.”

Amaka Obiekwe, a student,

Another sports Journalists, Uche Okonkow noted that the Falcons’ defence line was poor, adding that only Michelle Alozie and Ashleigh Plumptre showed some flash of brilliance.

“The two centre-backs were a mess, failing to cope with the speed and skill of the South Africans. Onome Ebi, the captain was unaware of her surroundings for the first goal and out of position for the second.

“She lacked positional awareness and the speed to match the athletic South Africans.

“Alozie, the American fullback was solid defensively in the first half and looked good going forward. However, she was at fault for South Africa’s second goal as she was caught out of position.”

However, the Super Falcons will next face debutants Botswana while South Africa and they need to redeemed their image.

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