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The Falcons made it clear from the commencement of this year’s tournament that they were in South Africa to reclaim the trophy they lost to Equatorial Guinea in 2008; and at the end of 90 minutes of play, they were proved right.
The match was action-packed, with the defending champions having an edge over Nigeria in the area of ball possession; but the Nigerians were ahead in terms of experience having won 5 out of the 6 previous editions. The only goal of the first half was scored by the tournament’s highest goal scorer Perpetual Nkwocha.
5 more goals were scored in the 2nd half. The equatorial Guineans equalized in the middle of the 2nd half but Nigeria went ahead again in the 72nd minute through Ugochi Oparanozie who had been a torn in the flesh of their opponents all through the first half.
In the 78th minute, a pull out from the right wing by Stella Mbachu was nodded by one of the Equatorial Guineans’ defenders into their own net, making it the third goal for the Super falcons.
In the 81st minute, Boho Sayo Jade pulled one back for the defending champions. The ovation that greeted her goal had hardly died down when Nigeria increased the tally to 4 as Ugochi Oparanozie’s pull out from the right flank was pushed into the net once again by another defender for a second own goal. This was the last straw that broke the camel’s back. The defending champions became completely demoralized as the possibility of scoring 2 more goals in eight minutes was no longer realistic for them.
In the 89th minute, Ugochi Oparanozie was replaced with Francisca Ordega. Soon after that, Glory Iroka hit the upright after beating the defenders and the goal keeper.
At the end of 90 minutes, the Nigerian ladies emerged champions after they made it clear from the inception of the tournament that they were in South Africa for business and that they would not return to Nigeria without the trophy.
Coach Uche Eucharia and her assistant Anne Agunmanu were elated that their team had regained their rightful position as the champions of Africa. Coach Jean Paul Mpila had no choice but to respect the Falcons for their experience.
The most valuable player (MVP) award of the match went to Ugochi Oparanozie. The Golden Boot award of the championship was given to Perpetual Nkwocha who scored a total of 11 goals to set a new African and World record. The Player of the tournament award went to Stella Mbachu, while the Fair play trophy was presented to Nigeria. Goal keeper Precious Dede who is also the captain of the team was full of joy as she lifted the tournament’s Trophy to the delight of the fans. Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea will now represent Africa in the 2011 Women world cup in Germany.
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