Posted by By MONICA IHEAKAM on
Still basking in the euphoria of their 10-1 bashing of Namibia, Super Falcons of Nigeria will, tommorow, file out against the Black Queens of Ghana, in a make-or-mar second leg qualifier for the 2008 Beijing Olympics soccer event.
•Ekpo and teammate celebrating during one of Falcons' outings
Still basking in the euphoria of their 10-1 bashing of Namibia, Super Falcons of Nigeria will, tommorow, file out against the Black Queens of Ghana, in a make-or-mar second leg qualifier for the 2008 Beijing Olympics soccer event.
With six points to the Black Queens nine points from three previous matches, the Nigeria girls need to win this last crucial tie from their arch-rivals, if they must snatch the lone African ticket from the Ghanaians.
During the first leg in Accra, the Black Queens, under Isaac Paha, proved bookmakers wrong by snatching a deserved three points with the 1-0 victory over the highly rated Falcons.
However, after series of the poor runs to their African Women Championship (AWC) kick-off, Ghana Football Association (GFA) were forced to overhaul the team's technical crew by sacking Coach Paha and his two assistants, Dan Owusu and Dara Zuta.
Early March 2008, GFA announced the national female Under-21 team, Black Princesses head coach, Mumuni Gamel, as the new successor to Coach Paha.
The new appointment seems to be working for the AWC 2006 silver medallists as they have qualified for the 2008 AWC billed for Equitorial Guinea by thrashing Cote d'Ivoire 3-0 away to book a place for the November championship.
The Nigerian girls and the technical crew are not in any way daunted by the impressive form of the girls from the Gold Coast, as they have declared to prove their rating as Africa's No.1 female side.
Chief coach of the Falcons, Jossy Lad told Daily Sunsport that tomorrow crucial encounter is a must win for his girls.
Our match with the Black Queens is a must win for us, the Super Falcons cannot afford to lose the Olympics ticket to Ghana," Coach Lad began.
'We are committed to our watchword which is commitment and hardwork and that is the approach we use for every game and this one, we will go the extra mile to pick the slot."
Coach Lad maintained that last weekend's 10-1 white wash of lowly rated Namibian female team is not a fluke and assured that his girls would swoop on the Ghanaian girls with all their arsenals.
He stated the defeat they suffered in the hands of the Black Queens last year is still fresh in their memories and that the match in Abuja would herald the Falcons stamping their supremacy as Africa's favourite female side.
'Super Falcons are the best in Africa as far as female football is concerned. They managed to win 1-0 in the first leg encounter, but that does not mean they would have it easy with tomorrow's game.
Nigeria Football Association (NFA) Chairman, Alhaji Sani Lulu, promised that everything needed to smoothen the way for the Falcons to be in Beijing has been done and all that is left for the team is to show the stuff they are made of in the field of play. 'We are going to give the match all it takes to make sure we pick the Olympic ticket, so, we are giving the team all the needed support both morally and financially for the girls to succeed," Lulu said.
Nigerians are waiting with baited breath to see the country represented in the football events at the Beijing Olympics as both the Super Falcons and Samson Siasia-led Dream Team IV needs to overcome the hurdles posed by Ghana teams. The Black Meteors and the Black Queen to set foot in Beijing.