South Africa vs Nigeria: Mixed reactions as coaches lament

It was a mixed reaction from coaches as the Nigerian U-17 women's team, the Flamingos, earned a vital 3-1 away victory against South Africa's Bantwana on Saturday at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in Pretoria.

Shakirat Moshood opened the scoring for the Flamingos in the 20th minute, with Harmony Chidi doubling the lead from the penalty spot just before halftime.

Although Bantwana's skipper, Katleho Malebana, pulled a goal back from the penalty spot early in the second half, Chidi restored Nigeria's two-goal lead with her second goal of the match in the 68th minute.

Flamingos head coach Bankole Olowookere praised his team's performance but emphasized the need for improvement ahead of the second leg.

"We had a good result, but we need to improve on a few things for the next game, as I know South Africa is also going to improve," Olowookere said via safa.net.

On the other hand, Bantwana head coach Ntombifuthi Khumalo expressed disappointment with her team's performance, highlighting the need to address defensive vulnerabilities.

"Once our opponents put pressure on us, we fail to protect our posts. That's the challenge we need to fix before we head into the second leg," Khumalo said.

The second leg is scheduled to take place at the Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne, Nigeria, next Saturday, with the winner on aggregate advancing to the final qualifying round.