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Nigerian Football

Troubled Rangers Face Draw Specialists, 3SC

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BY KUNLE SOLAJA.

Two Nigerian football traditional rivals, Shooting Stars and Enugu Rangers, who are exhibiting their rivalries in the back waters of the premier league, are also incidentally tied together by a traditional continental foe, Zamalek of Egypt.

Both sides which meet today at the Lekan Salami Stadium in a rescheduled league match are struggling against possible relegation.

For Shooting Stars, draw specialists this season, relegation is not a new occurrence.  But for Enugu Rangers, the league defending champions, relegation at the end of this season will be their first ever since becoming one of the pioneers of the national league in 1972.

Rangers remain the only top flight club never to have been relegated. But a drop looms large, as the side places 19th in a field of 20. Shooting Stars are 18th. Both have been victims of superior fire power of Zamalek of Egypt in continental championships.

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For Shooting Stars which appear to be the draw specialists of this season, a win is very unlikely. The former continental power has had to contend with four consecutive home draws, the last was against Abia Warriors three days ago.

No team has accumulated more drawn game than Shooting Stars this season. The number of their drawn games is seven from 13 matches, having also drawn three away games with Katsina, Enyimba and Gombe United.

 

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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