Kickoff (Cape Town)
20 November 2008
Nigeria's Falconets opened their Fifa Under-20 World Cup campaign by edging New Zealand 3-2 in a thriller following a superb fight back from New Zealand.
Goals from Sarah Michael and Ogonna Chukwudi appeared to have set the Falconets on their way to victory, but two exquisite goals from Ria Percival got the New Zealanders stirring and only a late Rita 'Akpantu' Chikwelu goal gave the Falconest victory.
Nigeria enjoyed the best of the opening exchanges, with their opponents tentative, but they failed to make their dominance count and the first chance of the game actually fell to New Zealand, Rosie White heading an effort just wide.
Chikwelu was having a lot of joy on the right hand side, and it was from there that she set up Michael for the first goal on 31 minutes, using her pace and skill to get past her marker before delivering a low cross across the face of goal.
The New Zealand defence failed to make a decisive clearance, and Michael showed anticipation and calm beyond her years by peeling off from the blundering defenders, picking her spot, and slotting beyond the keeper.
Four minutes later, it was two goals to Nigeria. Chukwudi with a quick turn and shot that that rifled under the keeper.
But Nigeria's women sides are not the best defensively and their soft underbelly was quickly exposed, Percival stealing in behind the defence to head in Hannah Wall's lofted ball beyond Charity John, three minutes before halftime.
Percival was back again, seven minutes after the break, showing good pace and skill to outrun one defender, turn the other with one piece of nifty footwork before unleashing an unstoppable effort past John.
Both sides were now high on confidence and it proved to be end to end stuff for the remainder of the game, with John called upon to make a reflex save from close range to keep the Nigerians level.
When the winner came, no player could have deserved it more than the buzzing Akpantu. She latched on to a long ball from deep, shook off her marker and rode a sliding challenge to place the ball beyond Charlotte Wood deep in stoppage time.
Nigeria's next game is against England.
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