… to face Chile in President’s Cup
Nigeria defeated Angola 29 to 21 to record their first win at the ongoing 10th IHF Women’s Youth U18 Handball Championship in China, www.aclsports.com reports.
Nigeria finished third place with 2 points in group B behind Croatia and Montenegro.
In the first half of the encounter, Nigerian girls were shy in front of goal as they failed to convert most chances created. Eventually, Nigeria led in the first half by 11 to 9 goals with the combined efforts of Damilola Akinlade and Taiwo Babatunde as well as the turnovers from the Angolan team.
Nigeria came out stronger in the second half scoring 18 goals while Angola scored 12 goals with the efforts of their pivot, Matutuzila Afonso. Nigeria won the game by 29 to 21 goals (a difference of 8 goals).
With the result, Nigeria will partake in the President’s Cup which serves as classification matches for teams who failed to progress to the quarterfinals.
Coach of Nigeria U18 Women’s Team, Agboola Shittu commended the players for recording their first at the Championship.
Shittu said, “I praise my team for their resilience in coming back to winning ways despite their previous losses, and doing so against Angola who is one of the best handballing countries in Africa shows that we can set aside our losses to attain greatness.
“The Angolans underrated the girls and I am happy the players took their chances. I am happy with the goalkeeper (Kehinde Babatunde) because she is improving as the world championship progresses”.
“The next assignment on my mind is how to overcome our opponents in the President Cup and place ahead of them. I want to appreciate the board of Handball Federation of Nigeria (HFN) led by Sam Ocheho for ensuring these girls attend the championship”, Shittu told www.aclsports.com
Nigeria will play Chile on Sunday at 7am in the President’s Cup.
