Boboye blames defensive lapses for Edo Queens defeat

Edo Queens interim coach Kennedy Boboye has blamed defensive lapses for his side’s 2–1 defeat to Ampem Darkoa in their final group game of the 2026 CAF Women’s Champions League WAFU-B qualifiers on Sunday, www.aclsports.com reports.

Speaking after the game, Boboye admitted that costly mistakes at the back ultimately contributed to the defeat.

“Our marking wasn’t good enough, especially from the left side, and that was where they got the first goal. The second goal was from our goalkeeper. Two mistakes committed in a tournament, and the second has caused us because it gave the Ghanaians free access to our defence,” Boboye said.

He dismissed the suggestion that having already qualified for the semi-finals affected his team’s intensity, insisting the Nigerian champions were aiming to top the group.

“No, we needed to win to top the group, well we needed to play a draw to top, but our goalkeeper made an error towards the dying minute of the second half and that cost us the loss,” he said.

Despite the defeat, Boboye said Edo Queens would maintain their winning mentality while correcting their mistakes and making changes ahead of their semi-final against hosts USFA.

“We will go back into the training session to correct our mistakes and carry on from there. We replaced our goalkeeper in this game, so that’s the first thing we’ll think of doing. Then we’ll talk to the players on how we can defend positively to give us good results in our semi-final game,” he said.