Nigerian champions Bayelsa Queens secured a dramatic 2-1 comeback victory over Burkina Faso’s USFA on Tuesday to succeed in the WAFU B Ladies’s Champions League closing in Abidjan.
The consequence retains alive their bid for a spot on this 12 months’s CAF Ladies’s Champions League.
Bayelsa Queens, who swept via the group stage with three wins towards Ghana’s Police Women, Benin’s Sam Nelly and Togo’s ASKO, entered the semi-final as favourites.
Nonetheless, they had been shocked inside two minutes when Consolation Yeboah fired USFA forward at Stade Charles Konan Banny.
Coach Busari Ishola’s facet reacted shortly. Ahead Shakirat Moshood whipped in a harmful cross that Emem Essien nodded residence to revive parity earlier than the fifteenth minute.
The equaliser settled nerves and gave the Queens renewed management of possession, though USFA remained resilient on the again.
Each side traded probabilities in a fiercely contested first half, with Bayelsa struggling to transform dominance into targets.
USFA, who superior from Group A with only one win, stayed organised and annoyed the Nigerian champions for lengthy spells.
The breakthrough lastly got here simply after the hour mark.
Janet Akekoromowei reacted sharply to a unfastened ball on the sting of the field and powered within the decisive strike.
The ahead, who had appeared harmful all night, sealed her group’s place within the closing with that effort.
Regardless of late strain from the Burkinabé facet, Bayelsa’s defence held agency to guard the benefit and shut out the win.
Ticket to the CAF Ladies’s Champions League at Stake
The victory booked Bayelsa Queens’ second look within the regional closing.
They beforehand lifted the trophy in 2022 and now stand one win away from one other CAF Ladies’s Champions League ticket.
They may face event hosts ASEC Mimosas, who thrashed Police Women 4-1 within the different semi-final, in Friday’s grand finale.
A win would hand the Nigerian champions passage to the continental showpiece later this 12 months.
