Subpar Suboptimal Super Falcons Falter Spectacularly:Malawi 3:2 Nigeria

Honestly, I wouldn’t say I didn’t see this coming. An almighty capitulation against Wafcon debutants Malawi might have sent shockwaves to the continent, but the Super Falcons got exactly what they, their attitude, their approach to the match deserves: to come away empty-handed, embarrassed and humiliated by opponents who took the match seriously, professionally and competently.

What were our players thinking? Malawi will just roll down and die at the sight of the almighty, untouchable, unassailable, social media savvy Super Falcons?

What a joke!

For the first 30 minutes of the encounter, if I could be paid 1 Kobo for every time the Super Falcons delivered a wayward pass, I would be a millionaire by now: they were abject, they were awful, they were not at the races.

Earlier on, Ayinde lost needlessly possession in midfield, setting the tone for how ineffective that midfield department would be for 60 minutes before subs were made. Alozie would often overlap from the left to deliver decent-looking but mundane crosses which Malawi gave less thought to like a mosquito.

The formation, on paper, was Madugu’s signature 4-3-3 but on grass, the players look rudderless, directionless, purposeless.

What they were playing was not football! The trio of Ayinde, Echegini and Ajibade played like a married couple that had filed for divorce: zero cooperation and coordination. In front, Ijamilusi, Okoronkwo and Ihezuo were detached from the rest. Oladipo looked lost, losing possession, delivering failed passes, throwing the ball to nobody and failing hilariously to combine and coalesce with those around her.

Ohale and Demehin were simply not up to the job on the night. They looked faded, fatigued, fumbling; bumbling into each other and making a mockery of the sacred art of centre back-pairing play. Social Media Comedian Nnadozie was the butt of the joke on the night as she looked heavy, leggy, shaky, conceding 3 goals and looking clownish in the process – it was embarrassing, to say the least.

As I alluded to earlier, the first 30 minutes was a cabaret of poor passes. Oladipo, Nnadozie, Echegini, Alozie, Ohale and others were culprits. During this 30 minute stanza, it was difficult to decipher what the plan, approach and strategy of the team was: The midfield was non-existent, long balls from defence were hopeful and hopeless; crosses were abject; shots at goal were at a premium.

The next 30 minutes were more of the same: Ijamilusi losing the ball severally; long balls from Ohale to Okoronkwo were easily dealt with, Demehin’s passes to Alozie were ineffective; Alozie’s passes were not cooked al-dente; Ihezuo got in on the act of delivering dire passes; Nnadozie had to make a comical save outside her 18 yard box with Demehin and Ohale lost at sea. It was a joke, honestly. It was like giving a 3 year old child a bowl of rice pudding to eat and play with and be surprised to see her whole face and your entire dining table painted with sludge of rice pudding!

The players had no structure, no shape, no organisation. This wasn’t even “kick and follow” football. It was “follow and kick” football – follow the ball, kick it aimlessly!

For the last 30 minutes, after subs were made, the Super Falcons finally, finally, woke from their slumber. They remembered who they were, why they were there and what they needed to do. Finally, their game started showing a semblance of how football should be played. The midfield started knitting neat passes, freeing up the flanks where Kanu and Ajibade tried to combine.

Still, it was all generic and pedestrian. Kanu’s generic crosses caused some problems and generic passes in midfield enabled the team achieve transition and turnover. Rotations and pivots in front were becoming evident and some sort of structure was finally taking shape. But it was too little too late.

At that point, I had lost interest. And at this point, I have lost my pen!