By Harry Awurumibe in Rabat
Super Falcons head coach Justin Madugu produced a tactical masterstroke to outwit his opposite number and technical manager of the Atlas Lionesses J̌orge Rodriguez Vilda in the epic final of the 13th CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) 2024 which Nigeria won 3-2 at Olympics Stadium in Rabat on Saturday night to emerge African champions for a record 10th time.
It was a game of two halves as the Moroccan senior women’s team, with the help of a vociferous home supporters in full-capacity stadium did not allow the Nigerians to settle down to play their style as the ever lively captain Ghizlane Chebbak capitalized on a wayward pass just outside the box by midfielder Halimatu Ibrahim Ayinde to rifle home a well-placed shot which eluded Nigeria’s goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie from the edge of the box in the 13th minute for Morocco’s first goal.
Surprisingly, Nigeria was rattled again 11 minutes later, when left-footed former youth international Saana Mssoudy, who received the ball right inside the box from a cross on the right and weaved past defender Michelle Alozie to smash past goalkeeper Nnadozie for the Lionesses’ second goal in the 24th minute.
However, with two goals down early in the game, the Nigerian players came together to have a quick on-field discussion apparently on how to stop the bleeding and they succeeded in not conceding any more goals till half time.
Prompt News reports that at the dressing room during the half pep talks, coach Madugu and his assistants Ann Agumanu-Chiejine, goalkeeper trainer Auwwal Makwalla and two expatriates-Video Analyst/Match Reader, Igor Krulj and Per Karlsson, Fitness trainer, decided to change tactics and employed all out attacking approach while maintaining balance in the midfield and solidity at the back.
This tactics overwhelmed the hosts as the pressure continued to mount in the box of the Atlas Lionesses in the second half, although there was no breakthrough early to show for all the dangerous incursions the Super Falcons were making on the night.
But in the true Nigerian spirit, the nine-time champions started their fightback in the 64th minute when impressive Esther Okoronkwo converted a belated penalty kick awarded to Nigeria after the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) ordered Namibian centre referee Antsino Twanyanyukwa to review a handball offence earlier committed by a Moroccan defender inside the penalty box.
This was all the boost Nigeria needed to turn the match on its head as seven minutes later, forward
Okoronkwo, full of trickery, bulldozing her way into the Moroccan box before passing the ball to dazzling Folasade Ijamilusi, who connected and calmly beat Moroccan goalkeeper at the near end to equalize the match for Nigeria.
However, the Atlas Lionesses thought they had won a penalty of their own in the 78th minute when the ball struck defender Tosin Demehin’s hand in the box, but after a long check with the VAR, referee Antsino Twanyanyukwa who earlier gave it struck off the penalty award.
With the Super Falcons now in the ascendancy, coach Madugu reached out to his last dice by making his last substitutions bringing on old war-horse Asisat Oshoala to distract the Lionesses in place of injured Ijamilusi and PSG of France’s midfielder Jennifer Onyinyechi Echegini who 10 minutes later gloriously swept home the third goal from another Esther Okoronkwo free-kick in the 88th minute to make it 3-2 in favour of Nigeria to throw the Olympic Stadium Rabat into a funeral of some sorts for Moroccan and bazaar for few Nigerians in the stadium in Rabat.
Nigeria’s goalkeeper Nnadozie made a few saves regardless of conceding two goals in the match while all the players held their nerves for the remainder of the encounter to grind out a 3-2 win which was enough for Nigeria to win the WAFCON trophy for a record-setting 10th time, One Million Dollar Prize Money and also a successful ending to a Mission X Campaign that caught on round the Nigeria and Africa like wildfire.
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Also, Super Falcons captain Rasheedat Ajibade was named Player of the Tournament, while Africa’s best goalkeeper for the past two years, Chiamaka Nnadozie was named Goalkeeper of the Tournament just as head coach Justin Madugu has won the Best Coach of the Tournament.
To reach the final, Nigeria decimated all three teams that had beaten them in the 2022 finals also staged in Morocco but under former United States-born ex-coach Randy Waldrum who did not believe on Nigerian coaches led by Madugu while he was incharge of the Super Falcons for four years.
Nigeria defeated Zambia 5-0 in the quarter finals to avenge a third-place defeat by the Copper Queens in 2022. In the semi finals, they edged South Africa’s Banyana Banyana who had beaten them 2-1 in the group stage in 2022.
In the final, they defeated the Atlas Lionesses that had beaten them on penalty shootout in the semi finals in 2022.
They also kept to their record of never losing a Women AFCON Final.
