CANADA vs NIGERIA (Vancouver)(Victoria)

[greg]

In the last 30 mins of the 1st half, the Falcons surely looked better than the last few matches I saw them play. There was some very composed dribbling and there was a little girl wide on the right who gave us a lot of width, and our shots on target required their goalies to make world class saves at full stretch. Of course the Canadians aggressively double teamed all our dangerous players in the 2nd half and sought to counter with speed right away. So the 2nd half skewed the stats quite a bit. The most important thing is that we were able to stand toe to toe with the Olympic champs, and give them some real trouble. Some Canadians next to me commented on how surprisingly competitive the Falcons were.
I think this is a fair summary from the coach
[tweet][/tweet]

[Oguleftie]

One of the better games I’ve seen Nigeria play in a while.

Canadian keeper made a stunning save at 1:0 from Payne which would have changed the complexion of the game.

New captain Plumtree gives the defensive a lot more solidity although she’s not blessed with the pace of the rest of the back line.

For once our keepers both looked solid and made important saves.

And we are really organised.

You want to see more quality in the middle of the park but on the whole not a bad side at all. Amazing how much better we look on a decent pitch.

Add to that the 'art of defending' when the opponent has the ball in the final third, marking attackers instead of watching the ball.

Going forward, the coach should make who gets to play dependent on impact on the field instead of names.

[iworo]

[Adisboy]

I was expecting a blow out, but much respect to the girls. They did us proud. As expected Canada upped their game in the 2nd half. They showed 9ja why they are a hockey country with some gra gra that caused 2 Falcons to be stretchered off and two requiring treatment. Goalie also subbed out injured. Hope they recover in time for the Afwcon. Our coaches need to work on the physical side of things. It's not that the Canadians were physically stronger player for player.
Ashley Plumtre played well in the first half but made some shocking giveaways in dangerous places in the 2nd. Same for the rest of the team actually as the Canadians gave them very little time on the ball. Next game in the doubleheader I believe is on Monday in Victoria.

My broda! Looking at the stats in that game tell a far different story than you are selling here o! 24 shots for Canada with 14 on target! Only 6 shots for our girls with 4 on target. That sounds like dominating to me.

That American coach is a fraud. I have never seen us play well under him. College level coach. Mschewwww!!

I would not say Coach is a fraud; he is objective and brings the best off-the-field management, giving the Falcons exposure they would never have had, including giving one newbie a chance who I have been monitoring in college.
Even without stats Falcons did not match up; 1st 30 min is where much of Falcons stats even up, looked to me Canada did not know what the Falcons would bring so were sizing them up & cautious going forward in 1st half.
So seeing Falcons did not have much punch going forward, Canada in 2nd half felt comfortable mounting pressure & stats became skewed.
I was surprised how well Chikwelu played, changed directions & sprayed the ball. Canada were on their toes whenever she had the ball; it was like the younger Chikwelu.

This may be true, but I'm talking about the product on the pitch. Our girls have played very poorly under his tutelage. Only in Naija can a dude get hired after getting fired by Trinidad and Tobago and coaching a college soccer team. But hey, na oyinbo. Mschewwww!!

Bushboy, na wa. You made conclusions on a match you didn't watch. This team is coming along nicely. I watched the 1st half & it was a fine display. You forget that Canada are Olympic champs, no.6 in the FIFA rankings. Add to the fact that once again the NFF botched preparations as we have a depleted team that had only 13 players arrive 48 hrs before the game. Only 13 players had a full training session before this match & they still put up a fine performance. This team is way better than it was during the Aisha Buhari Cup. I can only see one winner at the WAFCON and that is the Falcons. Hopefully, we can continue this programme till the World Cup next year. If we do I can see us get to the quarters at least.

[packerland]

Let’s see how they perform on Monday. They should get a few more days of practice in.

[jette1]

In the last 30 mins of the 1st half, the Falcons surely looked better than the last few matches I saw them play. There was some very composed dribbling and there was a little girl wide on the right who gave us a lot of width, and our shots on target required their goalies to make world class saves at full stretch. Of course the Canadians aggressively double teamed all our dangerous players in the 2nd half and sought to counter with speed right away. So the 2nd half skewed the stats quite a bit. The most important thing is that we were able to stand toe to toe with the Olympic champs, and give them some real trouble. Some Canadians next to me commented on how surprisingly competitive the Falcons were.
I think this is a fair summary from the coach
[tweet][/tweet]

“there was a little girl wide on the right who gave us a lot of width”
Ol boi you are out of line describing a professional like that

[iworo]

Focus on future for Canada in second game against Nigeria

Canada head coach Bev Priestman is expected to utilize a different lineup when two teams face each other again at the Starlight Stadium in Langford, B.C., on Monday


Canadian midfielder Julia Grosso (7) battles for the ball against Women's Nigeria National Ifeoma Chukwufunmnaya Onumonu (8) during the second half at BC Place on April 8, 2022.

It will be back to business for the Canadian women’s national soccer team after an emotional game against Nigeria at BC Place Stadium on Friday.

The homecoming saw goalkeeper Stephanie Labbe play her final game, striker Christine Sinclair return as the most prolific international goal scorer of all time, and Canada pull out a 2-0 victory.

Canada head coach Bev Priestman is expected to utilize a different lineup when two teams face each other again at Starlight Stadium in Langford, B.C., (10:30 p.m. ET) on Monday.

“I think it’ll be a blend, I do expect a better Nigeria team,” Priestman said Sunday. “They’ll have had more time to adjust, more players and Randy (Waldrum) is a good coach, so he’ll have adjusted to some of the things that happened the other night.

“I think it’ll be a balancing act of trying to get some flow heading into the summer and then within the game, a chance to see some players and give more minutes and opportunities to players. It’ll be a blend of everything.”

The two exhibition games are part of the Canadian Celebration Tour commemorating the gold-medal performance the Tokyo Olympics last summer. But they also serve as a tune-up for the Concacaf Championships this summer, which will double as a qualifying tournament for both the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, along with a 2024 Olympic qualifier.

While appreciating the team’s accomplishments in Tokyo, Priestman is focused on the future, which is why she called a number of younger players to be part of the squad.

“I feel like the team know where we need to head,” Priestman said. “We want to be clinical and we don’t want a team like Nigeria to be a banana skin at a World Cup or a similar team in a World Cup qualifier, so we know we have to be consistent and we’re clear on getting there. I get the sense from the group they’re really focused and ready to push forward.

“The other night was an unbelievable occasion, and in the first half, it actually showed. With the pre-game celebrations, I felt it took us a while to get going, but I get the sense is really focused and know that we consistently want to beat these teams convincingly.”

Canada played well in the first game against Nigeria and the score flattered the visitors in the end. Jessie Fleming and Vanessa Gilles scored in the win where Canada attacked in waves.

“What I will say, is that we are creating more chances statistically and I think it’s about demanding more from players to make sure they put those opportunities away,” Priestman said. “I think the team is aware of it, and hopefully, we can be clinical with what we get (Monday).”

Nigeria showed up in Vancouver with a reduced roster and are expected to have more players available in the second game Monday. The Super Falcons sat back and defended most of the game, looking to catch Canada on the counterattack.

Nigeria forced Labbe to make an outstanding save in the first half and then substitute goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan to make another in the second half.

“I didn’t expect them to play a back five; they’ve only done that once, which was against the US and they US struggled,” Priestman said. “It was a 2-0 game, but the US didn’t score until later, but credit to the respect they showed us at that moment in time, but also a reflection of they coming in late and all the rest of it.

“I was pleased with how we adapted. I do think I would expect they’ll be a bit more dangerous (Monday), because they’ve had more time together and we learned that when we played New Zealand. Teams are always going to be better at this level in the second game, more organized, more prepared and that’s us to get our mindset right.”

Priestman started a veteran lineup in the first game against Nigeria, who were all on the Olympic team, and then rotated other players into the game in the second half.

Both Fleming and Janine Beckie were outstanding in the contest and striker Adriana Leon was dangerous up front, although unable to bury the handful of opportunities she created.

“Adriana is a fantastic player, one of the hungriest players I’ve ever worked with,” Priestman said. “When you’ve got that and you put someone into the game like that, and is very direct and she just wants to score.”

Beckie is making a move to the Portland Thorns of the NWSL from Manchester City, and has become a valuable member of the national team, capable of playing multiple positions.

Beckie started the game in up front as one of two strikers against Nigeria then moved to right back in the second half, where she created a number of opportunities with dangerous crosses into the penalty area.

“Against a team like Nigeria who played a back five, Janine’s crossing ability at fullback, where she has more time and space, is lethal,” Priestman said. “But I don’t want to take away what she also does as a forward, because we know she can score.”

https://calgaryherald.com/sports/soccer ... st-nigeria

[packerland]

Sounds like they did their homework and watched the tape of our last friendly against the U.S.? Can we get the Canadian coach to be our men’s national team coach?

[packerland]

Sometimes planning and preparation trumps individual brilliance/skills.

[jette1]

Aren’t we playing tonight Abi nobody cares anymore ?

[jette1]

Pls Post link if any

[Ugbowo]

No link anywhere

[AYALA]

[jette1]

This bull crap Chanel just cut off the game

[AYALA]

[AYALA]

Damn it is going to be a long night for our girls

[AYALA]

Yes we scored..up Falcons

[bushboy]

I thought someone told us the girls are much improved? They still look extremely poor to me under this coach. Can't even complete simple passes. Somehow we are a goal up sha, so that good news.

[bret- hart]

We need to start producing more technically gifted players. If we did that we would smash alot of teams both male and female. Too much gra gra.

[iworo]

Canada 2 Nigeria 2 FT

[iworo]

Not impressed with the team at all. We need a better coach.