By Akinwale Kasali
The Falconets of Nigeria continued their impressive outing at the ongoing FIFA Under-20 Female World Cup in Costa Rica with a 1-0 victory over South Korea.
An Esther Onyenezide 82nd minute strike was enough to give the Nigerian Ladies their second win at the World Showpiece .
After over an hour 15 minutes delay due to heavy rainfall which halted the match as the pitch was waterlogged, the match commenced with the Falconets giving their Asian opponents a run for their talents.
The South Koreans created more meaningful chances, calling the Falconets Goalkeeper into action on several occasions, but she was equal to the task keeping her clean sheet.
On two occasions, the South Koreans hit the woodwork, but couldn’t get the desired goal.
At the other end, the Nigerians attackers were not sharp, but managed to get two shots on target.
The Falconets made their first attempt to score a goal in the third minute through Bashirat Amoo, who tried a long-range effort from a free kick but it was calmly saved by South Korea keeper Kim Kyeong-Hee.
In the 22nd minute, the Koreans went on the attack again with Lee Soo-In hitting a long-range strike but the ball hit the woodwork.
With four minutes left in the first half, Amoo made a long-range strike which went off target.
Five minutes into the second half, Onyenezide tried a long cross into the area on the back of a pouring attack but South Korea’s keeper rose high to claim the ball.
In the 82nd minute, the goal finally came thanks to a brilliant long-range strike from Onyenezide which flew past the Korean keeper into the back of the net.
The powerful strike from outside the box by Esther Onyenezide gave the Falconets the desired Three points to the delight of Nigerian supporters at the San Jose stadium, with a delighted Coach Christopher Danjuma jumping with ecstasy
The Koreans pushed forward for the equalizer but could not break down a resilient Falconets defence.
The Falconets will face Canada in their final group game on Wednesday by 3.00am Nigerian time.
In the other Group match, France defeated Canada 3-1 to keep their hopes of booking a place in the Quarter Finals alive.
Nigeria has automatically qualified for the Quarter Finals and lead the Group with Six Points, with its two closest rivals, France and South Korea tied on three points apiece.
France face South Korea in their last Group match. The winner of the match will join Nigeria in the knockout phase.
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