Mali coach says they expected Super Falcon’s thrashing

Coach of Malian women football team, Oumar Guindo, has said that the thrashing of his side by the Super Falcons, did not come as a surprise.

The Malians received some football lessons from the Nigerian ladies in their opening game of the Africa Women Cup of Nations Cup, AWCON, and Guindo has given praised Coach Florence Omagbemi tutored side.

Nigeria defeated Mali 6-0 in the opening Group B clash on Sunday and the coach confessed that the thrashing did not come as a shock going by the pedigree of the Falcons who are an astonishing seven-time African Champions.

According to him, “To play a team like Nigeria in the first match at a tournament of this nature is always going to be difficult.

“We met a strong team and it was not easy for us. We are a young team and my players have yet to adapt.

“For six years, Mali failed to qualify for the final tournament of the Women’s AFCON until this year,” he told a post-match conference.

Oumar further said that the preparation of the Mali team does not give room for much expectation.

“Our preparation was not the best as we played only one friendly match against Cameroon.

“After that, we did not test our readiness against any tough opposition.”

He said they will put the humiliation they suffered in their first match aside and face the next matches against Kenya and Ghana, adding that it is too early to give up on qualifying from the group.

“There are still two matches to play. Our objective remains going past the group stage and we will work towards achieving that.

“We are a young team and are hoping that in the near future we will be at the level of a team from Nigeria,” he said.