Edo Queens Football Club of Benin, in the battle of the two “Heart” states, confirmed that when there’s no pulse, the heart is useless with a 3-1 win over Heartland Queens of Owerri.
The “Heartbeat of the Nation” girls threw in all their might from the blast of the whistle, but Heartland Queens held tight to their backline. Shortly after, they made their opponents feel the pulse of their might when they opened the scoring in the 34th minute. Chioma Moses ran into space to meet with Goodness Osigwe’s high ball and lobbed goalkeeper Amarachi Atulayo to put Edo Queens in front.
Five minutes later, Kafayat Mafisere ran into three red shirts in Heartland’s defense to connect with Chioma Oliseh’s cross and she easily tucked in the second goal for her team.
Heartland charged forward to get one back, but the resolute Edo Queens defense with the confident goalkeeper, Nkiruka Obidinma held up to end the half with a two-goal lead.
The second half restarted and Edo Queens quickly extended their lead. Goodness Osigwe beat her marker on the left wing and released a long-range effort at goal. It got to goalkeeper Amarachi Atulayo’s glove, but the poorly cleared ball fell to the path of Emem Essien to clot home her fourth of the tournament.
Heartland made some changes to get themselves back into the game and the substitutes did well to change the face of the game. Heartland Queens’ toiling however paid off in the 69th minute.
Emmanuela James capitalized on goalkeeper Nkiruka Obidinma’s clearance and drew one back for the Imo-based side.
Moses Aduku made some changes to her team and they held on firmly to their lead. The girls secured their second win of the tournament and got themselves back into the tournament contention.
Edo Queens will go into the fourth game as the second-placed team with six points, one behind table toppers, Bayelsa Queens, and one above the third-placed team, Rivers Angels.
The match day four will see the Benin-based side match up against Nasarawa Amazons in a make or mar game. The game will take place at the Samson Siasia stadium, at 1 pm Friday.
Photos: The NWFL