Nigeria beat Zambia 1-0 at the Al Madina Stadium in Rabat, with ten players from the 40th minute, and remain alive at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
Barbra Banda played the full ninety minutes and did not have a single shot.
On Tuesday, against Egypt, she had scored four goals.
Zambia went from 4.98 expected goals to 0.37
In their opener the Copper Queens beat Egypt 6-0 with 34 shots and 4.98 expected goals.
Tonight they had eight shots and produced 0.37. They did not create a single clear chance all match: Nigeria finished with one and Zambia with none.
Six of their eight attempts came from outside the box. Inside it they shot twice, and that despite gathering twenty-two touches in the Nigerian area, nine more than their opponents.
Racheal Kundananji, the other reference point in the attack, had two shots and both were from distance: 0.09 expected goals between them before she was substituted in the 79th.
Oshoala settled it inside eight minutes
Asisat Oshoala scored in the 8th minute, after an error the feed charges to the Zambian defence.
It was the best shot of the match and also the clearest: she had three attempts, all inside the box, and accounted for 0.60 of Nigeria’s 0.78 expected goals. She came off in the 68th.
After her goal, Nigeria barely attacked again. In the second half, by then a player down, they managed two shots, none on target and 0.06 expected goals.
The sending-off did not change the score
Oluwatosin Demehin was sent off in the 40th minute, with the score at 1-0.
Zambia then had fifty minutes plus stoppage time to equalise against ten. They had eight shots, put two on target and did not score. Chiamaka Nnadozie made two saves and finished with 0.41 goals prevented in her favour.
Nigeria settled into defending: 26 clearances, 48 duels won to 41 and fifteen fouls. Possession finished almost even, 49-51.
The group will be decided on Wednesday
Malawi lead Group C on six points, after beating Egypt hours earlier. Nigeria and Zambia share three.
Egypt, without a point, can no longer qualify.
The two places will be settled on Wednesday 5 August: Malawi host Zambia and Nigeria travel to Egypt.
