Sunshine Queens Women Football Club of Akure on Sunday in Abuja defeated hosts Capital City Doves 2-1 in a Nigeria Women Professional League (NWPL) Group B Week Two match. The visiting side dominated the match played at the Area 3 Sports Complex from the first blast of the whistle. They held sway with good passes which made the match a bit tough for their opponents.

Shola Oyewusi opened scoring for Sunshine Queens 24 minutes into the game after a good pass from Adeola Aminu. Ten minutes later however, Gladys Akpa scored an own goal to draw the hosts level, following a corner kick by Capital City Doves’ Nelly Kalu. The visiting side’s Patience Agbokadi restored the lead for the visiting side with a low shot from outside the penalty box a minute to the end of the first half.

Helen Obinna of Capital City Doves had an excellent opportunity to equalise for her team in the 67th minute, but she failed to utilise it. Both teams however created so many scoring chances in the second half but failed to convert them to goals. At the end of the match, Raphael Olujohungbe, Head Coach of Sunshine Queens FC, said he had expected a win because his opponents were weaker.

“We played against a very weak team. We ought to have beaten them with a wider margin if not for some poor refereeing decisions. “I am happy we won our first match as we had expected,” he said. Olujohungbe also added that the team’s target was to win the league. On her part, the Head Coach of Capital City Doves, Ngozi Ezeh, said she was pleased with the performance of her team.

“I am happy and impressed with the performance of my team. “We just resumed training two weeks ago and are still young in the league, compared to our opponents. “So, I give my girls kudos for holding Sunshine Queens the way they did and not conceding more goals. “But we will get better in our subsequent matches,” she said.