Flamingoes Overcome Kenya 3-0 In Abeokuta

The Nigeria U-17 female team, Flamingoes, in Abeokuta at the weekend defeated their Kenyan counterparts by 3-0 at the MKO Abiola stadium in the second leg of African qualifier match.

The Flamingoes had beaten the Kenyan side by 2-0 in Nairobi in the first leg encounter a fortnight ago.

The tension-soaked match recorded a goalless first half as Kesiena Biahaotessy, who spotted jersey No. 10, scored the first goal of the match at the 50th minute.

It could have been a brace for Biahaotessy if she had converted the penalty kick that was awarded to Nigeria in the 75th minute.

Barely 18 minutes later, Yetunde Adeboyejo in no 11 jersey, scored another goal for Nigeria, but was sent off later for rough tackling, while Halima Ayinde in jersey No 14 scored the third goal in the 82nd minute.

The Kenyan Coach, Fredrick Serenge, ascribed their 3-0 defeat to the experience and the physical strength of the Nigerians.

They could not match the physical strength of their Nigerian counterpart, who are obviously overage and more experienced,” the coach told newsmen.

He disclosed that plans were underway to develop a formidable future team for Kenya within the next two years.

Coach Peter Devdevwo, however, denied the allegation that his girls were over-aged, and said that his players’ victory was due to team work, skill and physical fitness.

He said Nigeria was reaping from her grassroots sports programme, adding that the girls were products of age group competitions being organised across the country.

While conceding that Zambia, Flamingoes’ next opponent was a high scoring side, Devdevwo expressed optimism that they (Zambians) would not be a match for the Nigerian side.

A win against the Zambians in March would earn the Flamingoes a ticket to the 2012 U-17 FIFA Women World Cup in Azerbaijan Democratic Republic.