Nigeria (Flamingos) 2:1 Mexico Retrospective Reflection

The day belongs to our overlapping fullbacks - right and left - whose looping long range crosses gave birth to sequences for both goals.

Coach Busari's methods are yielding fruit, delicious fruits.

I went into this match not knowing what to expect but I was blown away by how efficient our girls were in dictating play and forcing the Mexicans to dance to their tune.

But, it started rather unsteady for our ladies. The defence, usually strong, was fragile earlier on. Up to the 30th minute, Mexico made worrisome inroads into the heart of our defence - it was a miracle they didn't score.

Playing a 4-3-3 formation, the ladies seem comfortable within this fabric. They won second balls; they attacked with intent, they executed neat passes and they eventually started looking compact.

Eventually our defensive lapses were addressed with more focuses tackles and greater intensity in marking out the Mexicans.

We too didn't particularly find it smooth sailing in front as the Mexicans defenders marked our wingers very tightly, making it incredibly difficult for wingers Joseph and Adegbuyi to settle on the ball long enough to deliver meaningful crosses.

This was when our fullbacks stepped up to the plate as fullbacks Yusuf and Stephen delivered the pre-assist crosses for the goals - great job ladies.

I feel bad for Chidi Harmony because it will be hard for her to reclaim that centre forward role in the stating 11 with how boiling hot Oluebube Umejiaku is right now; heavenly father! Just see how she controlled the ball, displaced the defence and blasted home with bad intentions for Nigeria's open goal, making it 2 goals in 2 games.

Not to be outdone, Midfielder Mary Dustan tore the back of the net for Nigeria's second goal when she could have easily missed with so many opposition defenders around her - excellent!

What else can I say? Well done to the team, not just the those involved in the goals but the entire team for playing with unwavering focus, concentration and determination.

Coach Busari used the players at his disposal very well and arranged them in a manner that brought out the best in them.

But...

Some of their passes were erratic and several crosses landed in no-woman's land. If the full backs hadn't stepped up to the plate today, our wingers had been well curtailed and neutralised. This can be problematic in other matches. Also, our defence was caught asleep on the wheel in the earlier stages - other opponents would not be so forgiving.

For now, well done to the team and the coaching crew. This is wishing them success in the quarter finals.