A 43rd minute penalty converted by Captain Rasheedat Ajibade was enough to give the Super Falcons a narrow 1-0 victory over South Africa in the first leg of their 2024 Paris Olympic Games final qualifying round tie.
The match which was played on Friday 5th April at the Moshood Abiola International Stadium, Abuja.
The hosts created better chances in the early stages but failed to put any into the net.
Chiwendu Ihezuo and Uchenna Kanu were lively in Nigeria’s attack, causing problems for the South African defence which resulted in Ihezuo being brought down in the box in the 43rd minute for a penalty to Nigeria which was put away by Ajibade.
The Super Falcons came close to doubling their lead in the 52nd minute but goalkeeper Swart made a brilliant save to prevent the ball from going into the net.
Jermaine Seoposenwe of Banyana Banyana had a shot saved by Chiamaka Nnadozie four minutes later.
Nnadozie had to be at her best again on the hour mark to deny the visitors.
Although, The Super Falcons could have scored more goals in the second half, a combination of poor finishing and brave defending stopped them.
The Falcons will take their slender 1-0 lead into the 2nd leg of the encounter in Pretoria, South Africa on Tuesday April 9.
The winner of the two-legged tie on aggregate score will pick the Paris 2024 Olympics ticket.
