The Super Falcons of Nigeria lost 1-4 to their counterparts from Austria in their opening game of the Cyprus Women’s Cup played on Wednesday, February 27.
The Super Falcons last outing was a 4-1 to win 3rd place game at Meizhou’s Four national tournaments held in China last January.
The Super Falcons won the 2018 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations(AWCON) against the Bayana Bayana of South Africa and have set their sights on a fruitful outing at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup scheduled to hold in France later this year.
Head Coach Thomas Demerby listed 24 super Falcons player for the tournament in Larnaca, Cyprus which is in preparation for the World Cup.
The Super Falcons started the encounter against Austria with a red card as early as the seventh minute as goalkeeper Tochukwu Oluehi was sent off for the African champions.
The Super Falcons held their opponents to a goalless draw at the halftime break.
Austria the 23rd ranked team in the world started the game at the AEK Arena on the front foot and took the lead through Tor Nina Burger in the 48th minute.
Nicole Billa doubled the lead for Austria in the 59th minute as the European started exploiting the red card.
Barcelona Female new striker pulled one back for the Super Falcons in the 65th minute.
The Super Falcons started their campaign in Cyprus with a loss
The lead did not last for long as Laura Feiersinge restored the two-goal lead for Austria in the 72nd minute.
Dominik Thalhammer’s side sealed the result in the 82nd minute when Jennifer Klein scored her first international goal when she converted a ball through to her by Elisabeth Mayr.
The Super Falcons will hope to bounce back from defeat and qualify from the group when they take on Slovakia in their second game scheduled for Friday, March 1.
