Nigeria's Super Falcons kept their Women's Africa Cup of Nations title defence alive with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Zambia in their second Group C match at the Al Madina Stadium in Rabat, Morocco, on Saturday night, Soccernet.ng reports.
The win was exactly the response Nigeria needed after suffering a surprise 3-2 defeat to Malawi in their opening group game. With three important points secured, the Super Falcons moved back into contention for a place in the knockout stage.
The game's decisive moment arrived in the eighth minute. Asisat Oshoala showed her experience by chasing what looked like a harmless ball after a mix-up between Zambia's defenders and goalkeeper Hazel Nali. The six-time African Women's Player of the Year reacted first, collected the loose ball and bundled it into the net to hand Nigeria an early lead.
Nigeria's task became much harder in the 40th minute when centre-back Oluwatosin Demehin was sent off. The defender brought down Zambia captain Barbra Banda as the striker threatened to race towards goal, leaving the referee with little choice but to produce a straight red card for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity.
Playing with 10 women for more than 50 minutes, the Super Falcons completely changed their approach after the break. Coach Justine Madugu's side defended well and stayed compact as Zambia threw everything forward.
Barbra Banda and Rachael Kundananji repeatedly tested Nigeria's defence, but the Super Falcons remained disciplined. Every clearance, tackle and interception became crucial as the African champions protected their narrow advantage until the final whistle.
The victory breathed new life into Nigeria's campaign with the Super Falcons needing a win against Egypt to advance to the quarter finals.
Super Falcons best performers: Alozie and Oshoala lead Nigeria's fight
Michelle Alozie delivered one of the finest performances of her international career and deservedly walked away with the CAF Woman of the Match award.
Starting at right-back, Alozie's responsibility increased after Demehin's dismissal. She covered huge areas of the pitch, won important one-on-one battles and helped frustrate two of Africa's most dangerous forwards in Banda and Kundananji.
Her speed, positioning and calm decision-making allowed Nigeria to survive wave after wave of Zambian attacks. The Chicago Stars FC defender switched to left-back midway through the second half after Rofiat Imuran was withdrawn. Still, the 29-year-old full-back never stopped running, tackling and defending expertly.
Oshoala also reminded everyone why she remains one of Nigeria's most accomplished legends. Restored to the starting lineup after missing out against Malawi, she repaid the coach's faith within eight minutes by scoring the only goal of the game.
Her goal came from relentless pressing rather than individual brilliance. She forced confusion between Zambia's defenders and goalkeeper before finishing confidently. The strike was also her 15th career WAFCON goal, strengthening her place among the competition's greatest goalscorers.
After Nigeria went down to 10 players, Oshoala sacrificed her attacking game. Instead of searching for more goals, she battled alone up front, held up possession whenever possible and won valuable seconds that helped ease pressure on her exhausted teammates before being substituted late in the match.
Worst performer: Demehin's red card nearly changed everything
Oluwatosin Demehin endured a night she will want to forget despite Nigeria claiming all three points. From the opening minutes, she struggled to cope with the pace and movement of Barbra Banda, who constantly threatened to run behind Nigeria's defence.
Before her dismissal, Demehin had already escaped punishment following a VAR review that ruled Zambia offside in the build-up to another challenge on Banda. It served as a warning, but the defender failed to adjust her approach.
Her decisive mistake came in the 40th minute when she shoved Banda as the striker raced through on goal. The referee, after a VAR review, showed a straight red card for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity.
The sending-off forced Nigeria to partially abandon their attacking plans and spend the remainder of the match defending with 10 players. Although her teammates produced a heroic defensive display to protect Oshoala's early goal, Demehin's dismissal made what could have been a comfortable evening into a tense battle for survival.
In the end, Nigeria celebrated an important victory, but the result owed much more to the resilience of Alozie, Oshoala and the rest of the team than to the contribution of the dismissed defender.
