Nigeria began their campaign, at the FIFA Women’s U-20 World Cup Chile 2008, in the best possible way, with a 3-2 win over New Zealand, in Coquimbo.
The winner came from Rita Chikwelu, late in stoppage time, to seal victory for the African champions. The match began at a slow pace, but the Africans came to dominate possession as the game progressed and Chikwelu dominated the middle of the pitch with her superior skill and distribution.
Even so, after ten minutes, the Oceania side had their first decent chance when a header from Rosie White slipped just wide. At the other end, Chikwelu appeared unmarked in front of the New Zealand keeper, but her close range effort did not find the net. New Zealand kept pumping in shots from long distance, but none of them caused any real danger. Nigeria proved to be the more efficient side.
Some fine individual work from Chikwelu saw a rebounding ball fall to Sarah Michael, who made no mistake scoring from close range. They then doubled their lead after 36 minutes, when Oganna Chuckwudi fired past the keeper from long distance. But John Herdman’s side came back into it. Shortly before half-time, Ria Percival scored with a magnificent header after a nice Hannah Wall cross. The goal boosted the New Zealanders’ confidence.
And after the break, they grabbed a well-deserved equaliser to make it 2-2 in the 56th minute - Percival was again the scorer. Neither side seemed content with a share of the spoils. Nigeria’s Glory Iroka and New Zealand’s substitute Annalie Longo missed promising chances from close in. But it was the best player on the pitch, Chikwelu, who scored the winner for Nigeria when she appeared unmarked in front of the New Zealand goal deep into injury time.
Rita Chikwelu, the winning scorer said that “I’m feeling great because I’ve scored the late winner. What’s happened today (Wednesday), makes me very happy.
“We can still play better than that, and I hope that’s what we’ll do in our next match. We’re aiming to make it as least as far as the quarter-finals.”
The Team’s chief coach, Daniel Evumena, on his part, stated that they are a better Team. “We were the better team by a long way, even though a number of our players have no international experience. That’s why we lost control of the match, but I want to congratulate my team, and I’m confident we’ll improve with every game. I want to reach the final of this tournament with Nigeria”.
New Zealand coach, John Herdman, said: “I think it was a very tough match. Nigeria are a good team. They let the ball – and as a result, us - do the work. But we knew the Nigeria game would be the toughest in our group. It’ll be easier against England and Chile. I’m very proud of my team. We’re disappointed, but it’s not the end of the world.”
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