Nigeria's Super Falcons earned their first win at WAFCON 2022 in the absence of Asisat Oshoala after beating Botswana 2-0 in their second group match.
The nine-time African champions had kicked off their campaign on a disappointing note following a 2-1 loss to South Africa on Monday.
To add insult to the pain, star girl Oshoala was ruled out for the remainder of the tournament after sustaining a knee injury in the encounter.
No Oshoala, No problem for Super Falcons
However, despite missing their top striker, Nigeria bounced back in their second group game against Botswana. Randy Waldrum's women started on the front foot as expected, dominating possession without giving The Zebras a sniff in attacking.
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Although Nigeria did not fail to create a clear chance in the early stages, their dominance eventually paid off in the 21st minute as Ifeoma Onumonu put them ahead.
The US-based striker got on the end of a beautiful pass from Halimatu Ayinde to slot past the Motswana goalkeeper. Onunmonu's strike turned out to be the only goal Super Falcons would score in the first half.
Ucheibe makes her mark
However, they did not have to wait for too long in the second as substitute Christy Ucheibe headed home a corner from Toni Payne three minutes after the restart.
Ucheibe had come on as a half-time substitute for Rita Chikwelu, and she made an immediate impact. Nigeria continued to dominate proceedings after the second goal but could not find the third despite creating numerous chances.
Nonetheless, it did not matter as the nine-time African champions got their WAFCON 2022 campaign back on track. The Super Falcons will now hope to end their group stage campaign on a high when they take on Burundi on Monday.