Nigeria

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Nigeria

Early Goals End Junior Ferns' Historic Cup Run

by Jeremy Ruane

Two Nigerian goals inside the first twelve minutes - the first after just 31 seconds - effectively ended the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup semi-final hopes of the Junior Ferns almost before they had begun at Moncton Stadium on August 17, Nigeria eventually running out convincing 4-1 winners in front of 3,588 fans.

Straight from the kick-off, the pacy Africans were in the ascendancy, and they opened the scoring virtually before anyone in white had touched the ball. Fullback Ugo Njoku ranged forward before linking with Sarah Nnodim inside her.

She quickly released Courtney Dike down the right, and she withheld a challenge before rolling the ball back into the stride of Njoku, who whipped in a lovely first-time cross to the far post, where striker Asisat Oshoala timed her run to perfection to nip in between Meikayla Moore and Catherine Bott and head home from six yards.

Lily Alfeld didn't have a hope of stopping it, but proved far more effective in the fifth minute, saving at the feet of Chinwendu Ihezuo, following a driving run through the midfield by Loveth Ayila,

A collision between Moore and Oshoala saw the Junior Ferns defender receiving treatment on the sideline as Nigeria doubled their lead in the twelfth minute. Ihezuo played a lovely ball in behind the defence which allowed the by-now-recovered figure of Oshoala to race on towards her objcetive and beat Alfeld all ends up at her near post - 2-0.

And so very nearly three sixty seconds later, Alfeld sparing the Junior Ferns' blushes by grabbing Ihezuo's shot, after Oshoala and Ayila had combined to send their team-mate through.

Thus commenced a spell in which the Junior Ferns struggled to retain possession - no sooner had they got hold of the ball they were giving it back to Nigeria. Conceding so early in the match had clearly rattled Aaron McFarland's charges, and their lack of composure and belief was very evident as they strove to get back into the match.

Rare were the instances in which they managed to string together a minimum of three passes. When they did, such as in the 33rd minute, they looked dangerous, and fully deserving of being in contention for a maiden semi-final berth. But such incisive raids were few and far between.

This one was sparked by a one-two between Katie Bowen and Steph Skilton, with the captain swiftly bringing Evie Millynn and Daisy Cleverley into the move. The latter returned the ball to Bowen, whose deft flick allowed Megan Lee to get in behind the Nigerians as she rampaged down the left.

Lee's low cross was a poor one, however, although that may have been a factor in Nigerian goalkeeper Sandra Chiichii fumbling the ball. Emma Rolston swooped on the sphere in an instant, but couldn't find anyone in a white shirt in support - chance gone.

Six minutes prior, the Nigerians had threatened once more, Osarenoma Igbinovia's teasing run seeing her beat both Skilton and Cleverley with sharp changes of direction. She couldn't beat Emily Jensen with her twenty-yarder, however, the ball cannoning to safety off the statuesque defender.

Jensen's effort typified the stoic response of the Junior Ferns' rearguard to those early concessions. As a unit, they recovered well to largely restrict Nigeria's progress throughout the balance of the half, although the Oceania champions were certainly the busier side defensively throughout the opening forty-five minutes.

There were two more attacks for the Junior Ferns to fend off before the interval gave them a chance to regroup. Alfeld comfortably gathered Ihezuo's curling free-kick three minutes before the break, while right on half-time, Moore's error let in Oshoala, only for the defender to retrieve the situation with a fine recovering tackle at the expense of what should have been a corner - a goal-kick was awarded in error.

New Zealand had to score first in the second spell if they were to have any hope of retrieving the situation and keeping alive their semi-final hopes. Rolston threatened with a 54th minute header from Lee's deep cross, but Chiichii was untroubled in denying the striker.

Such raids were rare, however. It was Nigeria who were always the more likely team to score again, with Halimatu Ayinde's shot being blocked by Moore just after the hour mark.

Then Bowen thwarted Ayila with a timely tackle after the Nigerian swept towards goal after scything in off the left flank. And in the 68th minute, Oshoala was on the rampage once more, getting to the by-line before pulling the ball back into the stride of substitute Uchenna Kanu, whose thumping fifteen yard drive was tipped onto the bar in brilliant fashion by Alfeld.

The Junior Ferns scrambled that threat to safety, but seven minutes from time, the game was up for the Kiwis. Ebere Okoye's corner cleared the heads of three defenders and found substitute Uchechi Sunday arriving bang on cue on the far post, just seconds after entering the fray.

She marked her arrival in unforgettable fashion, thumping the ball into the roof of the net from six yards out to ensure Nigeria's passage into the semi-finals, and a clash with North Korea.

Both Lee and Nnodim were left the worse for wear following an aerial clash soon after Nigeria's third goal, and soon after both had recovered the ball was in the back of the net once more.

This time, it was the Junior Ferns who were celebrating. Bowen released substitute Jasmine Pereira down the right, from where she delivered a cross into the near post area. Rolston was arriving at that precise moment, and beat Gladys Abasi in the air to expertly guide the ball across Chiichii and into the far corner of the net - 3-1.

Back came Nigeria, virtually straight from the kick-off, with Kanu and Okoye working a one-two before the former found Sunday on manoeuvres. She swiftly swept past Moore before beating Alfeld all ends up at her near post to restore Nigeria's three-goal advantage.

There was almost further reason for the Junior Ferns to celebrate in stoppage time, when Bowen's free-kick into the danger zone caused a scramble which culminated in Moore's looping header being headed off the line by Sunday, but the latter's late brace of goals had finally broken New Zealand's resistance, and it's Nigeria who progress to the semi-finals on the back of this well deserved 4-1 triumph.

For the Junior Ferns, the result was a disappointing one - as with the French affair, there was a sense of rabbits caught in headlights about their play, a lack of self-belief that they were where they were on merit, and had every right to compete from the outset, not long after the horse had bolted, which was certainly the case in this contest.

Nothing can take away, however, from the fact that in playing this match, Aaron McFarland's side made history - the first New Zealand age-grade women's team to ever reach the last eight at a FIFA Finals event.

The result of the quarter-final will doubtless disappoint, but when the history of New Zealand women's football is looked back upon in years to come, the Junior Ferns will have a page all to themselves in honour of their achievements at Canada 2014, something about which they should rightly be proud.

Nigeria: Chiichii; Njoku, Nnodim, Abasi, Okoye; Ayila (Adeboyejo, 74), Ayinde, Ihezuo (Sunday, 83), Igbinovia; Oshoala, Dike (Kanu, 58)

Junior Ferns: Alfeld; Bott ((Robertson, 77), Moore, Jensen, Ward (O'Brien, 53); Cleverley, Millynn, Bowen; Rolston, Skilton (Pereira, 63), Lee

Referee: Sachiko Yamagishi (Japan)

Project Canada 2014