Ginika stars As Flamingoes Floor Nasarawa Amazons in Lafia

The Nigeria U-17 women national team, Flamingoes kicked off their training tour with an impressive 2-1 victory over Nasarawa Amazons in Lafia on Thursday.

The Nigeria U-17 girls are on a four cities training tour across the Federation playing top women football clubs in the country, as part of their preparation for the 2014 FIFA U-17 World Cup billed for Costa Rica in March.

The Flamingoes started off well with an early opener in the 15th minuteginika ikeh from Confluence Queens’ attacker Ikeh Ginika while Pelican’s forward Chinwe Ihezuo doubled the lead in the 34th minute.

Nasarawa Amazons pulled one back after 18 minutes of the second half through a penalty kick,while Yakubu notably missed a close chance to stress the Flamingoes’ lead, however the Nigeria U-17 girls won the tie2-1.

Speaking after the match, Coach Bala Nkiyu who was full of praises for his players, commended the girls for the excellent composure and brilliant attacking spirit against the Amazons of Nasarawa.

The former assistant coach of the Super Falcons while challenging his players to improve their game, informed them that there is no automatic shirt to the World Cup, stressing that only the best will make the finals.

“I’m happy for the result; we had a good account of ourselves. I must salute your attacking spirit and composure. However, I must tell everyone here that you will have to fight for your place as there is
no automatic shirt,” Nkiyu noted.

The Flamingoes training tour’s first goal scorer and Confluence Queens forward, Ginika Ikeh described the outcome of the game as confidence booster, indicating that the team is getting more united and determined to win as a family.

“I’m happy with the chance to score the team’s first goal of the tour, for me it is the beginning of many to come. I give Credits to my teammates for their support and the coaches who gave me chance to play,” said Ginika.

The Flamingoes are expected to continue their trip to port Harcourt to meet the 2013 Federation Cup holders, Rivers Angels and finally to Asaba to play Delta Queens.

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