Nigeria ended its campaign at the African Women’s Youth Handball Championship, yesterday, with a hard-fought 29-28 victory over hosts, Algeria. The victory gave the Coach John Uzor-led side a reason to work harder on their game, having failed narrowly to make the semifinals of the championship, where they finished in the fifth position.

The Nigerians led 13–11 at halftime, but were made to work hard in the second half as the Algerians, buoyed by their passionate home fans, mounted a strong fight back.

The match was delicately poised at 28–28 heading into the final seconds, with the atmosphere inside the arena electric. In a moment of brilliance, Nigerian goalkeeper Aisha Jamilu produced a daring save to deny Algeria what could have been the winning goal. And from the ensuing fast break, Ngozi Korie held her nerve to fire home just as the final whistle was about to be blown, sparking instant celebrations from the Nigerian bench.

With the win, Nigeria secured fifth place in the championship, but failed to qualify for both the IHF Women’s U-18 World Championship, and the IHF Women’s Intercontinental Trophy.