How poor finishing, hard luck, officiating cost Falconets semifinal ticket

Several factors, including poor finishing, bad luck and dodgy officiating by Costa Rican official, Marianela Araya, led to Nigeria’s girls exit from the ongoing FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup on Sunday night.

The girls lost 0-2 to The Netherlands in their quarterfinal match in Alajuela yesterday. Flourish Sabastine, who scored Nigeria’s three-point winner against France in the opening match of Group C, was cynically stopped in the Dutch’s box in the seventh minute, but just as she did all night, Araya looked away.
Four minutes later, the Dutch were ahead, when Zera Hulswit rammed a perfect dipping shot beyond Omini Oyono as the conquerors of the U.S. pulled away on a counter-attack.

In the 15th minute, Sabastine again pulled away and let fly, but the ball was tipped away by impressive goaltender, Claire Dinkla.

At half time, Nigeria almost got the leveller that their endeavour deserved when Deborah Abiodun seized the ball, as the Dutch defence fell into confusion, but her own dipping shot from 25 metres hit the crossbar and was then tipped away from the head of Chiamaka Okwuchukwu.

Only three minutes later, the deficit doubled against Nigeria, when the Dutch broke through the right once more, and with captain Oluwatosin Demehin and Omowumi Oshobukola looking lost, Ziva Henry bundled the ball past Oyono.

Substitute Joy Jerry came close to pulling one back when her head met the ball from Rofiat Imuran’s cross in the 62nd minute, but the ball floated away.

Sabastine, forever unstoppable, was hacked severally in the Dutch penalty area as she darted in whenever she had the ball, but Araya saw no reason to award a penalty kick to the Nigerian side.

In the second minute of added time, a Dutch defender handled the ball in the box as Nigeria poured forward. But after consulting the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), Araya overturned her own decision to award a penalty kick. Defeat meant elimination for a team that had won all three group phase matches, scoring five goals and conceding only one.