Costa Rica 2022: Falconets zoom into penultimate round of African race
Falconets will now play the winner of the Egypt/Congo
Nigeria’s U20 girls proceeded into the penultimate round of the African qualifying series for next year’s FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup with an elegant 11-0 aggregate dismissal of their counterparts from the Central African Republic.
Victors by 7-0 from the first leg played in Douala, the Falconets rather took things easy at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena on Lagos Island, making it 4-0 with Mercy Idoko, two-goal heroine from the first leg, earning another brace.
Flourish Sebastine got the Falconets in front after latching onto a long thrust by Bashirat Amoo in the 13th minute, a minute after exciting left-sided midfielder Esther Onyenezide had rocked the crossbar from a free-kick.
Sebastine could have made it two 14 minutes later but she was thwarted by goalkeeper Beverly Mellot, who put up a brave performance. In the 31st minute, Onyenezide again rattled the crossbar with a sweet in-swinger from the right.
Idoko made good in the 35th minute, heading home from a corner kick by the ubiquitous Sebastine.
Six minutes into the second period, Idoko finished with a flourish off a flowing team move, sending the aggregate into double figures.
Captain of the visiting team, Sumita Lindsay Gouandjia was dismissed from the game for a second bookable offence in the 68th minute. Three minutes from the end, substitute Blessing Okpe made it four with a ferocious rising shot, only three minutes after coming in for Joy Jerry.
The Falconets will now play the winner of the Egypt/Congo fixture in the penultimate round of the African qualifying race.
