No Escape For Queens Nkwocha Vows

AS the Super Falcons of Nigeria and Ghana’s Black Queens look set for the weekend's Beijing 2008 Olympic Games qualifiers, former African Footballer of the Year, Perpetua Nkwocha has declared that there would be no hiding place for the visitors. Nigeria is second on the table with six points as against the nine points in Ghana's kitty. A win for the Falcons will see them through to Beijing and their third Olympic Games in a row. The Sweden-based Nkwocha, who led the Falcons to a 13-1 aggregate win against Namibia in the qualifiers for the sixth edition of the African Women Championship (AWC), told The Guardian on Wednesday that nothing would save the visiting Queens from defeat this weekend in Abuja. "I don't see Ghana giving us much problem this time," she said. "We have really trained together for a long time and beating Ghana is our main target this weekend. We know that a draw is not good for us, so we just have to win." According to her, the three straight victories the Falcons recorded against the Bayana Bayana of South Africa and Namibia would serve as motivation to the team in the battle against Ghana. The team lost the first leg 0-1 in Accra just before travelling to China for the last FIFA Women World Cup. The Ghanaian FA has since sacked the Black Queens' coach following the team's poor run in the AWC qualifiers. In the qualifiers for Athens 2004 Olympic Games, the Nigerian girls had to overcome challenges from their South African counterparts with a hard-earned 1-0 victory through Vera Okolo's goal at the Abuja Stadium. The winner of this match will automatically qualify for Beijing Olympics while the loser will have to face South American giant, Brazil, for a play-off. The guardian