#Sports - Falcon loss, great blow to female soccer – Analysts

Football stakeholders have described the Super Falcons 0-2 defeat to
Australia as a great blow to the team’s chances of getting to the next
stage of the ongoing FIFA Women World Cup.
The competition had been ongoing in Canada.
Some of the stakeholders who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria on
Saturday said the team performed below expectation.
Joy Etim, a former Falcons’ coach said she had expected the team to
defeat Australia in the encounter but the reverse was the case.
“It will take a miracle for the team to defeat the US in their next
match.
“Something is wrong, whatever that is, I hope they can figure it out
against the US, the team lost focus and they must have learnt their
lessons.
“Going by past records, the US, is one of the best teams in female
football, but not the best, we can only hope for a miracle,” she
stressed.
Tayo Balogun, a sports analyst said the technical crew had not done
enough to fortify the defence, given the number of goals the Falcons
had conceded.
Balogun also added that the team underestimated its Australian
counterparts and paid dearly for it.
“We have conceded five goals in two matches that shows that
something is wrong with our defence and they underestimated the
Australian team.
“It will take a miracle to fix things against the US, the team is
stronger than us in all ramifications, we don’t need to sugar-cot the
truth,” he said.
Royals Olajide, the secretary of the Women Amateur Football
Association, said that the result was disappointing for the country.
Olajide advised the technical crew to instil pitch discipline on the
players in their next match, saying that the team’s next match would
not be an easy encounter.
“There was no disciplinary play in the game and this is vital for a team
to play as instructed by the coach. I can’t imagine a situation where
Falcons played as a frustrated bunch. We receive balls and we can’t
make good passes.”
Festus Allen, a former coach of 3SC of Ibadan, urged the players to
put the defeat behind them and re-strategise against their next
opponent.
“This defeat will dampen the morale of players but they should not allow
it to discourage them from moving to the next round.
“Anything is possible in football and they can pull a surprise if they put
their house in order and play as a team and not individuals,” he said.
The ongoing competition which began on June 6 will end on July 5 in
Canada.

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