Nigeria Thrash Egypt to Proceed to the Last Eight of The WAFCON Tourney. -

After a slow start to the African Women Cup Of Nations (WAFCON), Justin Madugu’s side have now recorded two wins in their last two encounters.

The Cleopatra of Egypt whose elimination was imminent after suffering back to back loses against Zambia and Malawi approached the game with the intent to play for pride but unfortunately they crossed path with a Nigerian side whose qualification hopes banked on a comprehensive win to scale through to the knockout stages.

The Super Falcons who finished as Group C runners up behind WAFCON debutants Malawi deservedly emerged as victors against an inferior Egyptian side who barely posed any threat to the plight of the West Africans.

The ten time African champions pulled this in an emphatic fashion with a 6-2 mulling at the Rabat Olympic Stadium on Wednesday night.

In less than a minute before the whistle commenced proceedings, it was the Egyptians who fired a warning shot at the Nigerians through Nadine Ghazi but Chiamaka Nnadozie was equal to the task to deny them an early lead.

Nigeria pressed persistently from both ends until their efforts were rewarded with a penalty kick after an Egyptian defender was adjudge to have handled the ball in the penalty box as the pitch side monitor was fully utilized by the Rwandan referee Aline Umotoni.

Asisat Oshoala who initially won the penalty stepped up to give her side the lead sending Goalkeeper Habiba the wrong way to get her second goal of the tournament in just two starts.

Unfortunately a mild injury had to force the Al Hilal striker to an early exit as Washington Spirit forward Monday Gift was brought in by the technical team to fill the void.

Despite that, Nigeria didn’t fade at any given moment as Super Sub Monday Gift doubled Nigeria’s lead from a neat cross delivered by Rinsola Babajide from a corner kick.

The West Africans thought they had a comfortable lead heading into the break but the game saw a dramatic turn of events after defender Alozie conceded a penalty seconds before the break.

Nadine Ghazi who was The Cleopatras biggest threat of the night pulled one back for her side to halve the deficit before halftime.

Shortly after the commencement of the second half, coach Justin Madugu made a tactical shift and introduced Uchenna Kanu in place of Ijamilusi who had an underwhelming performance for her team.

The substitution sparked an immediate impact as Babajide turned provider once again swiftly squaring a loose ball to Kanu who tapped in to reinstate Nigeria’s two goal lead with her first touch of the game.

The North Africans could not contain Kanu’s intimidating presence in the box as the Egyptians were condemned to concede another penalty kick in the 80th minute.

After a lengthy VAR check had affirmed the penalty decision, Rasheedat Ajibade handed the ball to defender Christy Uchiebe who made no mistake and striked with precision.

The Egyptians didn’t relent and eventually grew in confidence later on and it was Nadine Ghazi once again who scored a consolation goal for the North Africans through Yasmin Hassanin’s pass as well as her second of the night.

It was already looking like a fiesta of penalties as Alozie was carelessly tripped down by an Egyptian defender in the 18 yard box and the ref didn’t hesitate to point to the penalty spot for the fourth time in the game.

Nigeria’s Skipper Rasheedat Ajibade converted from the spot in additional time adding more woes to the toothless Egyptian side.

At the dying minutes, It got worse for the Egyptians as Rasheedat Ajibade delivered a splendid assist to substitute Joy Omewa who got her first goal of the tournament to seal the win for the defending Champions.

The ten times African champions will now face Cameroon in a clash of the heavyweights on Sunday for a chance to book a ticket for next year’s world cup finals in Brazil and to also chase her title ambitions.