With slim 1-0 advantage in the first leg, the Super Falcons will fly out Nigeria on Sunday night ahead of Tuesday’s second leg of the last Round of 2024 Olympic Games qualifier.
Captain Rasheedat Ajibade’s well-taken 42nd minute penalty separated nine-time African champions Nigeria and reigning champions South Africa in their Women’s Olympic Football Tournament qualifying match at the MKO Abiola National Stadium on Friday night.
Chinwendu Ihezuo was upended in the box just minutes earlier as the Super Falcons broke forward once more, and the Spain-based Ajibade made no mistake in heaving the ball past Kaylin Swart.
Returnee forward Ihezuo was a real pain in the neck for the Banyana, as her pace unsettled their rearguard several times, but Nigeria failed to make hay from dead-ball situations before and after Ajibade’s strike.
Goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie was called upon to make a world-class save midway into the second half, when Jermain Seoposenwe fired a belter from 20 yards after a good pass from the precocious Thembi Kgatlana.
Attention has immediately shifted to Tuesday’s return leg at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria, where there is still so much to play for with the Falcons only a goal up in the fixture.
The Banyana will fly back to Johannesburg on Saturday morning while the Super Falcons will fly out of Lagos on Sunday night.