Sports
EX-international, Friday Ekpo, on Thursday applauded the performance of the victorious Super Falcons in their clash with tournament co-host, Australia, in the ongoing 2023 Women’s World Cup
The Super Falcons came from behind to defeat Australia 3-2 in the match, silencing their home crowd.
Ekpo, however, appealed to the Nigerian team not to underestimate the Republic of Ireland, their next opponents.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that with the 3-2 win, the Falcons now have four points from two games, having earlier played a goalless draw with Canada.
The Matildas, on the other hand, now have three points, having earlier defeated the Republic of Ireland 1-0 in front of a record 75,784 supporters.
Matildas are ranked No.10 in the world by FIFA, while the Falcons are ranked No. 40.
Ekpo, a member of the 1992 Africa Nations Cup squad, told NAN that playing as a team would help the Super Falcons to sail through the group stage and the round of 16.
” Playing against a host country is tough, winning them is no small feat; these women have done well, they went all out and were able to keep it together, I say kudos to them.
” I want our girls to give the next match against the Republic of Ireland the same level of seriousness and concentration they gave the previous two matches; any team that made it to the World Cup is no pushover.
” Nothing beats having a team that plays with precise cohesion, plays as a team and wins as a team.
” It is crucial that they play according to the coaches’ game plan,” he said.
Ekpo told NAN that the team’s defence line should be tightened.
” The defence was fair enough but it can be better, the midfield too; we need to control and hold the ball in order to create more opportunities.
“The coach needs to identify what works for his team, so far he has done well in terms of selection of players, and as a big fan of the girls I applaud the coach Randy Waldrum,” he said.
Sharing same view, Bright Omokaro, an ex-international, commended the team for not getting overwhelmed with the home support their opponents enjoyed.
“Not being overwhelmed by the fans cheering the co-host is applaudable, then going ahead to win is great; they’re the team to watch out for in this tournament.
“This win will further boost their morale, it’s a big deal to defeat the host country.
”They should allow their win to spur the team to the next level, they should refrain from assuming that Ireland will be an easy fry.
“They need to beef up their defence and keep it together, Australia’s second goal shouldn’t have happened, the less goal the team concedes the better,” he said.
The ongoing World Cup is being hosted by Australia and New Zealand. (NAN)
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July 28, 2023 @ 14:34 GMT|
Tags: Friday Ekpo Randy Waldrum
