AFC Toronto of Canada attacker, Ijeoma Esther Okoronkwo has come out with a bold pledge that she and her colleagues in Nigeria’s female national team, Super Falcons, will play better against Botswana on Thursday.
Sports247 reports that it will be the Falcons’ second group match at this year’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, and Okoronkwo admitted that the Nigerian players have to step up better than they did versus Tunisia on Sunday.
Read Also: Ahmed Musa Resumes as Kano Pillars GM, Vows to Reposition Club
Though they won that opening group match 3-0 in Casablanca, many critics continue slamming what was a largely disjointed display by Coach Justin Madugu’s side.
In response to such critical comments trailing Sunday’s victory, Okoronkwo, who was born in Abia State but grew up in Richmond, Texas, USA, assured that the Falcons will correct all areas of laxity before their next game.
The 28-year-old forward, who played for Lamar University before getting her first professional contract at Saint-Etienne of France, attributed the jerky performance against Tunisia to missing links that often plague a team’s first match at a major championship.
Okoronkwo disclosed, “We were like trying to get going and get out our work together. We tried to plan and get our chances as much as we could. We waited for the goals to come, and they did come.”
She concluded by noting a silent but major positive from Sunday’s fixture, which the former UD Tenerife of Spain and Chanchun Zhuoyue of China striker pointed out was the calm and patient manner in which the Falcons approached the game.
“We had to be patient in our first game because we were still testing our strategies. But, in our next game, we’ll be more prepared.
“This time, we’ll try to connect the ball to other teammates and play together as a team,” said Okoronkwo, who has six goals in 15 matches for Nigeria and got an assist in Sunday’s victory.
Incidentally, Okoronkwo has played only three matches for AFC Toronto, but she already has two goals for the Northern Women’s Super League (NWSL) outfit which she joined earlier this year.
