19 November 2008
Lagos — The Nigeria team to the Female Under-20 World Cup going on in Chile left matters till when it was becoming almost too late, to have the account of New Zealand settled in the opening match of the competition last night.
Captain of the side, Rita Chikwelu tucked in the final goal into the net two minutes into added time after 90 minutes.
The Falconets wobbled and fumbled for all of 90 minutes, failing to strew as many as three passes together in a row throughout the time. And coincidentally, it was the Chikwelu who finally did the super-rescuing job that kick started the long string of bad marksmanship.
The first in the series, came off her leg in the tenth minute of the game, when with just the New Zealand goalkeeper left to beat in front of the six metre box she tore her shot out of measure, pumping it so much into the sky that it could have been a whole ten metres above the crossbar.
As if that was the cue they needed, the rest of the forward line of the Nigerian team began their own catalogue of misses, and in this, in regulation time, Sarah Michael and Tawa Ishola seemed to be contesting for the honour of who to be labelled as the most guilty.
The two took turns to either shoot weakly to the hands of a seeming inept goalkeeper, Charlotte Wood, who seemed out of her depth early in the match. The number of their miscued and scuffed shots had become so high towards the end of the match that the New Zealand had been virtually turned into a hero as each timid shot over another dropped innocently into her laps.
PLAYER RATER
-Charity JOHN (Gk): - 6 points
-Margaret DIKE (Defence): - 4 points.
-Glory IROKA (Defence): - 5 points.
-Esther Eno EDEM (Defence): - 7 points.
-Tawa ISHOLA (Forward): - 6 points.
-Ogonna CHUKWUD (Striker): - 6 points.
-Rita CHIKWELU (Attack): - 6 points.
-Sarah MICHAEL (Attack): - 6 points.
-Joy JEGEDE (Midfield): - 6 points.
-Ulunma JEROME (Midfield): - 6 points.
-Rebecca Ifeoma KALU (Midfield): - 5 points.
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