Captain Rasheedat Ajibade has dismissed talks that the Super Falcons adopted a defensive game in South Africa so as to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The nine-time African champions held hosts South Africa to a goalless draw in Pretoria Tuesday to seal their passage to the summer games after they won the first game in Nigeria 1-0.
Ajibade, who scored the all-important goal that qualified Nigeria to the Olympics in July, maintained the Super Falcons played to win also in South Africa.
“We didn’t hold back, we wanted to score goals,” the Atletico Madrid forward said.
“We respect South Africa, but we wanted to play the way we played in the first leg at home in Abuja.”
She admitted Banyana Banyana have made giant strides in recent years to put pressure on the continental dominance of the Super Falcons.
“We can’t sleep, we have to be on our toes because South Africa want to catch up with us,” Ajibade said.
“We appreciate the pressure from them.”
She also revealed her closeness to South Africa star Thembi Kgatlana as they are both born-again Christians.
