My players were carried away, says Florence Omagbemi

The tactician has revealed that her players failed to carry out their plan despite their slim victory over Banyana Banyana on Tuesday

Desire Oparanozie’s lone goal sent the defending champions to the final of the championship, and the Super Falcons boss, Florence Omagbemi admits her players were swallowed up by the occasion.

“First of all, I want to give credit to the players again. Our approach in the first half was different from the second,” said Omagbemi in a post-match conference

“We had a game plan but some of the players were carried away by the emotions of the occasion.

“There was some nervousness noticed even among some of the key players of my team.

“I was surprised to see them get overwhelmed by the occasion.

“In the second half, we asked them to try to relax.

“They all wanted to play in the final but to do that, they had to be relaxed.

“In such games, if you try to do too much, you will make mistakes.

“We are an attacking team and did not try to play defensively after we scored.

“The game against South Africa was not was one of our best games but I give credit to the players for winning despite not playing very well.

Nigeria will now face hosts, Cameroun in Saturday’s final at the Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo, Yaoundé.