Zambia head coach Nora Hauptle admitted her side failed to make use of a numerical advantage after falling 1-0 to 10-player Nigeria in their Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Group C match on Saturday.
Nigeria took an early lead through Asisat Oshoala in the eighth minute at Al Madina Stadium. The Super Falcons were reduced to 10 players in the 40th minute when defender Oluwatosin Demehin received a straight red card for a foul on Zambia captain Barbra Banda. Despite playing more than half the match a player down, the defending champions held firm to secure a vital victory that revived their title defence hopes.
Speaking to the media after the defeat, Hauptle explained the tactical adjustments her team made after the interval. “After the halftime we decided to change the system so we went with 4-4-2, the objective was to dominate with the ball, use our numerical advantage but the issue we had was that we started launching the ball from the defence to the attack which did not help to dominate the game and we did not take control of possession,” she said.
The Swiss coach noted that substitutions brought more skill but limited chances. “We brought in more skillful players which helped us become better but we didn’t create lots of dangerous chances but we also didn’t allow Nigeria anything so they only scored from one of the two breaks they had. It was in our hands but we did not take our chance to beat Nigeria,” Hauptle added.
Zambia now turn their attention to their final group fixture against Malawi. “Now we need to focus for the next game and go all out against Malawi,” the coach said.
The result leaves Malawi top of Group C with six points, while Nigeria and Zambia sit level on three points each. Zambia had opened their campaign with a strong win over Egypt, but the loss to the 10-time champions leaves their quarter-final path dependent on the remaining match.
