Super Falcons coach Edwin Okon has refused to take responsibility for his side’s FIFA Women’s World Cup defeat to the United States of America on Wednesday morning.
Instead, he is pointing the finger at the match officials, led by referee Kateryna Monzul from Ukraine.
The Nigerian girls put up a spirited fight but their physicality meant several yellow cards and a red card for right-back Sarah Nnodim.
But Okon, who appeared to ignore US coach Jill Ellis’ offer of a handshake after the match, refused to give his opponents credit for the 1-0 result.
“It’s been a good one and we thank God for the game,” Okon told the host broadcasters moments after the match, before adding with a heavy dose of sarcasm: “We thank God for the officiating in the competion. In the first and second halves, we thank the referee. That’s all.”
When pushed to explain why his team could not create chances against the US like they did against Sweden in their opening 3-3 draw, Okon retorted tersely: “There was frustration from the officiating.”
But the Falcons were impressive in spells against the USA, and they kept going even when they were a woman short.
“It was a great experience for us here in Canada,’’ Okon said.
He however said his team lost focus, and the U.S. only needed to hold on to their lead after Nigeria were reduced to 10 players later on during the match.
“We weren’t focused enough in a few situations today (Tuesday). And, I wasn’t surprised to see the U.S. make substitutions that were more defensive after our sending-off as they knew they were playing a good team.
“You always have a 50-50 chance in every game. Today, the U.S. made the most of one of their chances and we didn’t, even though we had several,’’ the coach said.
Meanwhile, the coach of the U.S. Jill Ellis, has praised the Nigerian side for their efforts, saying his team however rose to the occasion to maintain their dominance over the Falcons.
“Nigeria gave us a good fight, as expected. They’re a dangerous team. I’m happy with the way we played both with and without the ball.
“We can attack with confidence if we have a good backline. It’s a shame we only scored one goal but we’re very happy to finish top of a difficult group,’’ the coach said.
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