The lone winning goal for Nigeria was scored by striker Desire Oparanozie, a situation that earned her side a place in the final against Cameroon.

South Africa started brightly but the Desiree Ellis-led side failed to capitalise on their early dominance.

Oparanozie and Ngozi Okobi both had chances to put seven-time champions Nigeria ahead in the 25th minute, but goalkeeper Andile Dlamini thwarted their shots.

Seven minutes later, South Africa had the ball in the net but it was ruled out for offside.

However, Oparanozie put Nigeria ahead with a powerful free-kick eight minutes after the restart.

South Africa pressed and pushed for an equaliser forcing Nigeria to defend with determination.

The Super Falcons almost conceded a bizarre own goal in the 83rd minute, but goalkeeper Alaba Jonathan was alert to save Ugo Njoku’s awkward header on the line.

It is worth noting that, the Indomitable Lionesses lost 5-0 to the the Super Falcons in 2004 in South Africa, while Nigeria produced a tactical performance to beat Cameroon 2-0 in the 2014 edition in Namibia.

The ball has been set rolling and Cameroon will probably want a revenge as the Super Falcons have stopped them three times from grabbing the trophy.