THE Falconets are on course to defend their gold medal at the African Games. They took a step closer to that dream and defeated Uganda to reach the final of the football event of the competition.
Nigeria won the game 2-0 thanks to strikes in the 74th and 89th minutes by Okah Adaobi and Chiamaka Okwuchukwu respectively.
Coach Christopher Danjuma’s side endured a feisty first half in the Monday semi-final encounter. They controlled possession but breaching the Ugandan defence was a herculean task.
The game ended goalless in the first half with Nigeria continuing their search when the second 45 minutes began.
Nigeria made two changes with about 19 minutes left of normal time. Adaobi came in for Olusola Shobowale while Chiamaka replaced Motunrayo Ezekiel in what later proved to be a tactical masterclass.
Adaobi gave the Falconets a breakthrough just three minutes after getting into action. Although Nigeria could have doubled the advantage 10 minutes later, they were denied by an offside call.
It, however, did not take long before the West Africans scored again. This time, it was another substitute Okwuchukwu who slotted home to give Nigeria the victory at the Cape Coast Stadium.
With Monday’s win, the Falconets are now in a pole position to defend their 2019 success in the competition by taking the gold medal in Ghana. They will play the winner of the Ghana and Senegal match in the final.
