Falcons will be dangerous at WAFCON – Waldrum

Super Falcons coach, Randy Waldrum, says the 2-2 draw against Olympic champions Canada is a big boost for the confidence of his players as they head into the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations billed for Morocco from July 2 to 23.

After losing 2-0 in the first leg of their friendly on Sunday in Vancouver, the Falcons bounced back with an improved performance to hold their hosts to a 2-2 draw on Tuesday.

Ifeoma Onumonu gave the African champions the lead in the fifth minute, while Rasheedat Ajibade scored the second in the 53rd minute. Christine Sinclair was on target in the 49th minute while Shelina Zadorski ensured the Olympic champions were not beaten at home, grabbing the equaliser in the 88th minute at the Starlight Stadium, Langford.

Speaking after the encounter, an impressed Waldrum said the result was good for his team’s confidence.

“I think the result is a sign of what we’ll see at the WAFCON. I think you’ll see some different players, they’re a few that come to mind – players like Asisat Oshoala, the leading scorer in Europe right now, Desire Oparanozie, Osinachi Ohale and others,” Waldrum said at the post-match conference.

“Individually we have some creative and athletic players that can cause problems for teams, so what I think we can improve on is our overall game model and that takes time but it’s gotten better from a year ago when we took over.

Getting such a result is huge for our team and obviously for our country. We all understand how the game went, they had a lot of opportunities and we worked really hard and stayed better defensively than the first game we played.

“I thought we did better offensively and created more chances in this game so I’m really proud of the result and I also want to thank Canada, they have been a gracious host.”

PUNCH/Nnenna.O