Senegal achieved a major milestone on Sunday when they beat Uganda 2-0 in a Group A match at the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in Rabat, Morocco.
The win helped the Teranga Lionesses to record their first ever win in the history of the competition.
Diakhaté Ndeye opened scoring for the Senegalese team with a penalty kick in the 39th minute after Tunisian referee Dorsaf Ganouati had spotted a foul on 16-year-old striker Hapsatou Diallo.
Uganda could have equalised a few minutes later through Kazakhstan-based striker Fauzia Najjema, but Lionesses goalkeeper Tenning Sene brilliantly denied Najjema and the Cranes.
Pre-match favourites Uganda laid siege to the Senegal goal, but somehow Senegal retained their 1-0 lead at half-time.
Senegal doubled their lead through Nguenar Ndiaye five minutes after the break.
She finished clinically after being put through by the young rising star of Senegalese football, Hapsatou Diallo.
The goal was a huge blow to the Crested Cranes, who desperately tried to get back in the game but to no avail.
Lionesses goalkeeper Sene, may have been a peripheral figure for Senegal in the build-up to the tournament, but she grabbed her chance brilliantly to be named “Woman of the Match”.
The 2-0 win gives Senegal top spot in Group A, as they leapfrog Morocco, who they join on three points.
Group A Standings
Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts
Senegal 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2 3
Morocco 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 3
Burkina Faso 1 0 0 1 0 1 -1 0
Uganda 1 0 0 1 0 2 -2 0
Meanwhile, Wikki Tourists Football Club of Bauchi on Sunday beat visiting Akwa United FC of Uyo 2-0 in a 2021/2022 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) fixture.
The Match Day 36 fixture was played at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium in Bauchi.
Wikki Tourists Taye Murtala scored the game’s first goal in the eighth minute, while Prince John scored the second goal in the 27th minute.
In a post-match interview, Abdullahi Adamu, coach of Wikki Tourists, commended his team for grabbing the full points from the match.
“The players did very well to recover the two points lost against Shooting Stars the last time we were at home.
”Now, the three points secured will keep the team strong.
“The team deserved the three points because they played well and we are ready to meet Lobi Stars in our next match,” he said.
Ayodeji Ayeni, the head coach of Akwa United, however commended his team for salvaging the situation they found themselves in.
“The team salvaged the situation. We are able to know how to end the season and how to start the new season,” he said.
Wikki Tourists are now in the league’s 10th position with 49 points.
