Nigeria player ratings vs Jamaica : Oluehi, Alozie, Payne impress; Zogg composed; Ogbonna struggles

African powerhouse Nigeria suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat to Jamaica in the first of their three games at the 2021 WNT Summer Series on Friday morning.

Super Falcons' American manager Randy Waldrum handed debuts to dual-eligible Tikkurilan Palloseuraa attacker Roosa Ariyo, FC Zurich's central defender Onyinyechi Zogg and Gotham's Ifeoma Onumonu.

Izuchukwu Okosi rates the performance of the Super Falcons :

Goalkeeper

Tochukwu Oluehi : The Nigerian keeper saved a first half penalty from Deneisha Blackwood but inadvertently conceded the only goal of the game scored by the same player when her defenders let her down.  She made a good save aside the penalty also in the first half after a sloppy pass nearly cost the Falcons. 8/10.

Defenders

Chidinma Okeke : The right back had a tough evening curtailing the nippy Jamaicans who kept switching positions to cause issues for the Falcons. 6/10.

Blessing Demehim : The left-back was stretchered off with an injury in the second half. it was an encouraging outing. Noteworthy was a tackle she made that denied the Jamaicans a second of the game at the time. 6.5/10.

Glory Ogbonna : Was the captain of the team monetarily in the match after Francesca Ordega came off through substitution. Though the Edo Queens ace saw things differently, she was guilty for the foul that led to the missed penalty. 5/10.

Onyinyechi Zogg : Went the distance on her Nigeria debut. Looked composed especially in the first half. Made a couple of clearances in and around the box (7).

Midfielders and Strikers

Rita Chikwelu : The 'old lady' of the team provided experience in midfield and was particularly helpful in breaking up the plays of the tricky Jamaicans. 6.5/10.

Rasheedat Ajibade : Another important player of the Super Falcons. She saw her textbook header parried away 15 minutes into the second half. 6.5/10.

Roosa Ariyo : The number 12 struggled to get into good scoring positions before she subbed out late in the first half. 5/10.

Obianuju Ikechukwu : The new girl on the block helped in pressing the Jamaicans backwards especially when she  did in the opposition half. She had some good shots on goal. 6/10.

Francisca Ordega : The captain for the Nigerian side. Before her teammates grew in the game, she was the player that carried the most threat and seemed like she was likely to score. Indeed, the Levante striker came close to scoring in the first half but the referee insisted that her effort did not cross the line. 6.5/10.

Toni Payne : Full of industry, pace and trickery. The Nigerian team has landed a good asset in attack going forward. Impressive. 7.5/10.

The Substitutes

Michelle Alozie : She saw her powerful left-footed shot come off the crossbar in the second half from the edge of the Jamaican penalty box. 7.5/10.

Ifeoma Onumonu : The former United States U23 international entered the game as a sub in the 55th minute. Had an encouraging game. 6/10

Ijeoma Okoronkwo : Replaced Ariyo in the closing minutes of the first half and was a threat when she came on. She prematurely celebrated a goal in the 50th minute, only for her close range effort to be chalked off for offside. (6.5/10)

Joy Bokiri : The former youth international replaced Francisca Ordega but made little impact in the game. 5/10.

Nicole Payne : Replaced Okeke in the 90th minute. Not enough minutes to be rated.

Izuchukwu Okosi