By Amaechi Agbo

Nigeria representatives at the ongoing 2022 CAF Women’s Champions League in Morocco, Bayelsa Queens will be seeking to avoid the fate that befall her predecessor, Rivers Angels as they battle TP Mazembe ladies in the Group B matchday 2 of the continental league on Thursday.

Like their counterparts Rivers Angels who were Nigeria’s first representatives at the CAF WCL in 2021, Bayelsa Queens began the 2022 CAF WCL with a 2-1 loss against defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies.

Bayelsa Queens will be looking to avoid the same fate as Rivers Angles who lost both their opening games in 2021, after losing 3-0 to AS FAR and then 1-0 to Mamelodi Sundowns

The Prosperity Girls will take on TP Mazembe ladies who won their first match and would be looking to consolidate on their stride when both clash at the Grand Stade Marrakech tonight.

Bayelsa Queens despite their defeat made history as they become the first team to score a goal against defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies when Mary Anjor scored in the 81st minute of their 2-1 loss against the South African club. Sundowns Ladies had not conceded a goal in their five games at the 2021 tournament.

Despite losing their opening game Bayelsa Queens had more shots on target (7) than their opponents Sundowns Ladies (4).
Bayelsa Queens had a 72.8% pass success rate in their first game.

Blessing Llivideva was Bayelsa Queens most influential player in their opening game, completing 35 passes more than any of her teammates, as well as 4 good long balls a joint high for a team. She also shared the most passes between her and her teammates, she made at least 8 passes to three of her colleagues.

This will be the first meeting between TP Mazembe and Bayelsa Queens at the CAF Women’s Champions League

This game also represents the first time that a team from the Democratic Republic of Congo will face a team from Nigeria at the women’s continental league

We Are Condemned To Win

Meanwhile, Bayelsa Queens Coach, Domo Okara has stated that the Prosperity Girls are “condemned” to win their match against TP Mazembe on Thursday.

Speaking during the pre-match conference on Wednesday, coach Okara said he would change his tactical approach to win the match and stand a chance to progress to the next round.

Okara, who guided the team to WAFU-B success in Cote d’Ivoire in August, explained the importance of the encounter to his team and is confident they can achieve their desired result.

“We are looking forward to the next match against TP Mazembe. The only target on our minds is to win to be able to qualify for the next round of the competition,” Okara said at the press conference.

“We watched their game against Wadi Delga and we will work with what we saw from that match. In this circumstance, we are condemned to win.

“If we don’t win, we have no chance of qualifying for the semi-final, so we must win. We are going to change our tactical approach from what we used against Mamelodi Sundowns.”

Re-echoing her coach’s view, captain Uzoamaka Igwe says they will go all out for the maximum points against the Congolese giants.

“It is a must-win game for us in order to remain in this tournament. We have learned from our mistakes from the last game,” Igwe said during the press conference.

“In the last match [against Mamelodi Sundowns], we had a little bit of poor communication in our defence line. We also watched the replay of our match and we are hoping to correct our mistakes in the next match against Mazembe.”

The match will kick-off 7pm Nigeria time.