A brilliant goal by Fatima Tagnaout 13 minutes from time separated Cameroon and Morocco in the second match of the maiden edition of Aisha Buhari Invitational Women’s Tournament at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena in Lagos.
Both
Lionesses were matched in all aspects for large swathes of the game, with the
North Africans showing both power and athleticism on similar scale as can be
found in sub-Saharan teams.
Goalkeeper
Khadija Errmichi and defenders Zineb Redouani, Nahla Nakkach and Sabah Seghir
stood firmly between the France 2019 World Cup finalists and any goal, before
the nimble-footed Tagnaout showed much calmness in picking her spot on a
counter attack to put the more experienced Lionesses to the sword.
Cameroon
reached the final of the Women African Cup of Nations the country hosted in
2016 (losing the trophy to Nigeria) and featured at the FIFA World Cup finals
in France, but that did not matter to the Moroccan girls as they went tackle-for-tackle
in the evening sun.
Bella Rose,
who plays for Malabo King in Equatorial Guinea, brought the crowd to its feet
after the quarter-hour when she targeted the near post after beating two
opponents on the edge of the penalty box. The ball rocked the crossbar and went
out.
Tagnaout,
Ghizlane Chebbak, Chhri Ghizlane, Redouani and Salma Amani all showed flashes
of brilliance in a match officiated by Zouwaira Souley Sani from Niger Republic.
On Friday,
Ghana’s Black Queens and the Banyana Banyana of South Africa will square up on
Day 3 of the tournament at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena.
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