Super Falcons: 5 takeaways from Nigeria’s win over Comoros, including Eguavoen’s lucky charm

Nigeria's Super Falcons fought hard to claim a fine 2-0 win over Comoros' Coelacanths at the Remo Stars Stadium on Friday night.

The ten-time African champions were as toothless as a dog in the first half as the visitors held them to a goalless draw. However, Michelle Alozie gave the Super Falcons the breakthrough early in the second half, and it was an easy ride home from there.

Nigeria would have loved to score more goals in the encounter, but here are five takeaways for the Super Falcons from the hard-fought match.

Super Falcons begin life after Ohale

Osinachi Ohale announced her international retirement last week after a lengthy career with the Super Falcons. Ohale saw it all with the team, appearing at multiple tournaments and winning several titles, including six WAFCON crowns.

But at 34, and after 16 years with the Super Falcons, Ohale departs, leaving a massive hole in the heart of Nigeria's defence. Her experience and quality will be missed, but it is certainly the right time to give way for younger players to take up the mantle.

She had become slower, and that came back to bite Nigeria at the WAFCON, where the Super Falcons conceded cheap goals, lost their continental crown and missed out on qualifying for the 2027 World Cup.

Eguavoen makes women's football bow

Augustine Eguavoen has seen it all in men's football and now begins a new chapter in women's football. As a player, he won the AFCON with the Super Eagles and helped Nigeria qualify for their first World Cup appearance in the United States in 1994.

He later returned, reinvented himself and became a coach, handling the Super Eagles on multiple occasions, including leading the team to a bronze medal finish at the 2006 AFCON.

Eguavoen then transformed again into a football administrator, becoming the technical director of the Nigeria Football Federation, a position he still holds.

However, out of the blue, Eguavoen is now the head coach of the Super Falcons following the dismissal of Justine Madugu. Yes, it is on an interim basis, but this is the first time he is handling a major women's side.

While it is good to see Eguavoen on the sidelines again, his Super Falcons team lacked a clear playing style, showed little cohesion, had a diluted identity and struggled for much of the game in the final third.

That may be a bit harsh, though, as this was his first game, and it may take more than a few training sessions for him to get his ideas across.

To his credit, the Super Falcons looked a bit sharper after the break, thanks to whatever Eguavoen told the players in the dressing room at half-time.

In the end, Eguavoen's lucky charm came through. He led the Super Eagles to a 1-0 win over Ghana in his first competitive game in charge at the 2006 AFCON. Now, he has won his first game in charge of the Super Falcons.

Super Falcons were unlucky and wasteful

Nigeria's Super Falcons were deservedly the overwhelming favourites to beat Comoros. Many would have expected the former African queens to score a hatful of goals against the island nation.

There is no doubt that Comoros' Coelacanths are a decent side, and they showed it even before kick-off in Ikenne. The Comorese claimed a 30-0 aggregate victory over Sudan in the first round.

They also put up a good fight against Nigeria, showing resilience, self-belief and hunger. However, Nigeria should have won this game by a more comfortable scoreline.

The Super Falcons were unlucky on several occasions, hitting the goalposts three times in the opening 30 minutes. A few players also wasted good chances when well-placed inside the danger area. Alozie fired over a couple of times when passing to a better-positioned teammate would have been the right option. Payne, Kanu, Ogbonna and Ajibade were also guilty of missing fine chances.

Joy Igbokwe makes Super Falcons debut

In his first match as Super Falcons coach, Eguavoen made some very interesting decisions. He opted for a 4-4-2 formation, with the key inclusion of Igbokwe, who made her Super Falcons debut.

Igbokwe is the captain of Nigeria's U20 women's team, but she could not join the squad for the U20 Women's World Cup because of visa issues. Now, just a few weeks later, she has made her maiden senior appearance.

The young midfielder did not look out of place, playing as the team's pivot in the absence of Deborah Abiodun and Ngozi Okobi-Okeoghene.

With Igbokwe in the defensive midfield role, Christy Ucheibe was asked to fill the hole left by Ohale, and she did well in partnership with Roma star Shukurat Oladipo.

This could be the first of many starts for Igbokwe. It was a pretty good debut from the teenager.

The Super Falcons need a new prolific centre-forward

Today, Asisat Oshoala turned 32, and it feels as though the end of one of the greatest Nigerian strikers in history is drawing closer. She is the latest in a long line of great Super Falcons forwards, a list that also includes Perpetua Nkwocha and Mercy Ajide.

Monday Gift and Uchenna Kanu are tireless workers and aggressive forwards, but they need too many chances to score a goal. Folashade Ijamilusi also falls into this category.

Against a top-level team, Nigeria need a striker who can turn one clear chance into one goal. That may be the biggest missing piece in this current Falcons team.

The jury is still out on Joy Omewa, Blessing Nkor and Janet Semenya Akekoromowei.

When Nigeria needed a goal against Comoros, it was a defender, Michelle Alozie, who stepped up with the crucial opener early in the second half.

Nigeria and Comoros meet again at the same stadium on Tuesday for the return fixture with the aggregate winner set to face Morocco in the third qualifying round.