Nigeria’s representative in the 2024 Confederation of African Football (CAF) women champions league, Edo Queens, hopes of lifting the tournament has been dashed after losing 3-1 to their Congolese opponent, Tout Puissant Mazembe (TP Mazembe).
The Congolese team rallied to beat the Nigerian team after trailing their opponent by a lone goal for many parts of the game before scoring in 90 minutes to equalize.
TP Mazembe further took the match beyond their Nigerian opponent after scoring two goals to lead 3-1 in the first half of the extra-time of the semi-final encounter played on Tuesday in Morrocco.
After a barren first half at Casablanca’s Larbi Zaouli Stadium, Emem Essien, one of the standout players in this competition shot Edo Queens into the lead.
Many had thought it was the decisive goal as the minutes wound down in the second half but the mistake of the Nigerian team resulted in the equalizer and defeat.
However, a late equaliser by Merveille Nanguji gave TP Mazembe a lifeline and dragged the game into extra time where the Congoleese club eventually triumphed with two more goals; winning the tie 3-1.
If they had advanced to the final, Edo Queens would have become the first Nigerian side to achieve this feat, building on the legacy of compatriots Bayelsa Queens, who were stopped at this same stage in 2022.
Now Coach Moses Aduku’s Ladies will need to dust themselves to make the most of their third place match on Friday.
