TheCable

Super Falcons of Nigeria were beaten 2-0 by their Canadian counterpart in the first leg of double-header friendly games on Saturday morning.

The double-header friendly, which is in preparation for the 2022 African Women’s Cup of Nations (AWCON), saw Jessie Fleming open the scoring for Canada in the 50th minute.

Chiamaka Nnadozie, Falcons’ shot-stopper, had earlier made a couple of successive saves in the first half of the game to keep the Canadian team at bay while the Nigerian team scuttled a free-kick opportunity in the 22nd minute.

A few minutes later, Rasheedat Ajibade fired a screamer which was parried away by Stephanie Labbe, Canada’s goalkeeper.

Vanessa Gilles, however, netted the second goal for the Olympic champions in the 72md minute of play at the BC Place Stadium in Vancouver.

Tochukwu Oluchi who came on for Nnadozie in the second half made two brilliant saves to deny Canada from netting their third goal.

The Olympic champions dominated the nine-time African champions with more cutting-edge opportunities.

The Canadian women’s national team has now secured two victories over the Falcons in their last five meetings.

The second leg will come up on Tuesday at the Starlight Stadium in Victoria, Vancouver. The kick-off time is 3:30 am (Nigerian time).

The 2022 AWCON is also scheduled to begin in Morocco in July.