TheCable

The Super Falcons of Nigeria were held to a 1-1 draw by Equatorial Guinea in the first leg of their 2016 Rio Olympics qualifier at the Abuja National Stadium on Saturday.

Halimatu Ayinde gave Nigeria a 25th minute, but the visitors drew level in the 65th minute from a swift counter.

A minute silence was observed before kick-off in honour of Falcons’ media officer, Gracious Akujobi, who passed on two days before the match.

In a game that gave the Malian referee lot of works to do as it got messy at some point saw the African champions take the lead when Ayinde turned sharply inside the box before firing home.

The home side piled up the pressure in the second half in a bid to increase the goal tally but they were undone by after the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations host scored from a counter attack 35 minutes to the end of the match.

Falcons missed the past edition of the women’s football tournament of the Olympics in London in 2012 after they were eliminated by Cameroon.

They risk missing out once again with Equatorial Guinea needing a goalless draw in the second leg billed for Bata on August 2nd.