Super Falcons’ Goalkeeper, Chiamaka Nnadozie, has said that she would have saved the penalty awarded to Morocco during the final of the 13th African Women’s Cup of Nations if the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) had not overruled the referee’s decision to award the spot kick.

The African Women Goalkeeper of the Year said that although the atmosphere at the stadium in Rabat was tense, she knew what Nigerians expected of her and was ready to do anything to dash the Moroccan dream.

Speaking during a reception for the victorious Falcons in Lagos, yesterday, Nnadozie said: “I was very confident that I would save the penalty. The entire team were cheerinmg me to stop it and I wanted to use it to shine. But at the end, it was disallowed.”

Nnadozie also said that she was confident Nigeria would beat Morocco even when the Falcons were two goals down. The Paris FC goalkeeper said that Morocco scored against the run of play, adding that the goals came from defensive errors, which the team corrected during the break.

“When we came on for the second half, I told the girls that we must not lose the match. It was difficult, but we persevered and got the victory,” she said.

Head coach Justin Madugu, said that the team was able to react to the different challenges in Morocco because they prepared well for the competition.

“It’s not easy because the players are based around the world, and we sometimes have just a few days to train together,” he explained. “Despite the challenges, we always focus and do our best.”

On the criticism from the public, he said: “You can’t please everyone. But I know this team, their strengths and weaknesses, and how to get the best out of them.

“Constructive criticism is fine, but we won’t let negativity distract us.”