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Nigerian Football

We’ll Dim Sunshine Stars, Says Akwa Skipper

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BY MFON PATRICK.

 

 

Akwa United captain, Otobong Effiong, has charged his teammates to be ready to fight for all three the points at stake when they engage Sunshine Stars of Akure at the Dipo Dina Stadium in Ijebu-Ode on Sunday.

The Match day 33 showdown will see third placed Akwa United battle 12th placed Sunshine Stars. A win for Akwa United will ensure they maintain their third position on the log.

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Speaking with the club media officer ahead of the match, Effiong praised his teammates for their dedication and tenacity so far this season and encouraged them to be more focused in their remaining six matches starting with the crucial game against Sunshine Stars this Sunday.

“We have had a good season so far, that is why we are third on the table at this stage of the season. We still have six matches before the end of the season and if we win all the six remaining matches, then the NPFL title could be ours.

“We are determined to give our best in the remaining matches beginning with this weekend’s game against Sunshine Stars. The team cannot afford to lose focus especially now that the race for the NPFL title is becoming interesting”.

“We have won away from home this season and we want to do that again this Sunday in Ijebu-Ode. We have a great team and wonderful coach and our fans are always behind us, and that has given us the belief that we can beat any team in the league.

“Our major concern is to end this season on a high, possibly with the league title” the captain explained. Meanwhile, Coach Abdu Maikaba will welcome back four of his players from the CHAN Eagles camp into the team as the Promise Keepers face Sunshine Stars.

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Vice-Captain Ariwachukwu Emmanuel, Alhassan Ibrahim, Aremu Afeez and Ifeanyi Ifeanyi joined up with the rest of the squad in Ijebu-Ode on Saturday afternoon.

The Promise Keepers defeated Sunshine Stars 3-1 in their first leg in Uyo and will be aiming to do the double over the Akure based side. Akwa United are on 51 points from 32 matches.

 

 

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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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Nigerian Football

Behold! Nigeria Football’s October 8 Magic

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Nigeria’s Godwin Iwelumo terrorising Egypt’s goalmouth 47 years ago in an October 8 match. Nigeria won 4-0 inflicting the worst ever defeat on Egypt in a World Cup qualifier.

BY KUNLE SOLAJA.

It is 75 years since Nigeria’s national football team first played an international match. That was on 8 October 1949 when the first set of Nigeria’s assembly on their return voyage stopped over in Freetown and engaged Sierra Leone in an international football match. Nigeria won 2-0, setting a chain of positive results on 8 October.

 The country never lost any competitive duel on that date. More significantly, the Super Eagles first qualified for the World Cup on an 8 October date.

 That was in 1993 when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Algeria in the quest for USA ‘94 World Cup.

 Nigeria became the first English-speaking African country to qualify for the World Cup. Another significance of the October 8 match at the July 5 Stadium, Algiers is that Nigeria were unbeaten for the first time by Algeria at home.

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 The only deviation from the 8 October Magic was in 2015 when Nigeria lost 2-0 to Congo in a friendly match.

 Twenty-six years after Nigeria’s debut international match, one of Africa’s biggest football nations, Egypt fell to the October 8 magic, losing 4-0 to Nigeria in the last stage of the triangular World Cup qualifying series for Argentina ’78.

Up till October 15, 2013, when Ghana beat Egypt 6-1 in Kumasi, the October 8, 1977 duel with Nigeria remained Egypt’s biggest loss in a World Cup qualifying match.

 Before the 1977 duel, Nigeria in 1963 played a friendly match with Liberia in Monrovia. The October 8 magic was active, even in an away match. Nigeria drew 2-2 in their very first encounter with Liberia. It was shortly after the team had,  through a protest, upturned a victory by Guinea to pick Nigeria’s very first African Nations’ Cup ticket.

Little wonder then that when FIFA suspended Nigeria in 2010, the world governing body provisionally lifted the ban on October 8!

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Nigeria on 8 October

  • 1949 – Freetown (Friendly) Sierra Leone 0-2 Nigeria
  • 1963 – Monrovia (Friendly) Liberia 2-2 Nigeria
  • 1977 – Lagos (World Cup qualifier) Nigeria 4-0 Egypt
  • 1993 – Algiers (World Cup qualifier) Algeria 1-1 Nigeria… qualify for USA ‘94.
  • 2005 – Abuja (World Cup qualifier) Nigeria 5-1 Zimbabwe
  • 2010 – FIFA, in apparent respect to the 8 October magic, provisionally lifted a ban imposed on   Nigeria.
  • 2011 – Abuja (African Nations Cup qualifier) Nigeria 2-2 Guinea. Although undefeated, Nigeria failed to make it to the 2012 African Nations Cup.  
  • 2015 – D.R. Congo beat Nigeria 2-0 in Visé, Belgium. The ‘October 8 Magic’ is finally broken.
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Nigerian Football

 Rivers flow to the top!

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Rivers United have launched themselves to the top of the log at the end of the match day 5 of the Nigeria Premier League. The Port Harcourt side beat Akwa United 2-1 to go afloat after initial leaders, Remo Stars crumbled to a 1-0 defeat at Kwara United in Ilorin on Sunday.

It was Remo Stars’ first defeat in the season. Rivers United are now with 13 points. Stephen Mayo put Rivers United ahead after  31 minutes. But it turned a temporary lead as Akwa United bounced back almost at the blast of the referee’s whistle for the second half.  

Friday Apollos levelled up for Akwa United before Ndifreke Effiong Udo scored the winner in the 85th minute.

Sunday Results

  • Kwara United 1-0 Remo Stars
  • Rangers International 1-0 Abia Warriors
  • Heartland FC 2-0 Niger Tornadoes
  •  Kano Pillars 2-0 Sunshine Stars
  • Plateau United 1-0 Ikorodu City
  •  Rivers United 2-1 Akwa United
  •  Enyimba 3-0 Katsina United* Suspended
  •  Nasarawa 0-0 Bayelsa United

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Enyimba’s duel with Katsina United plunges into darkness

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Former Nigerian champions, Enyimba were coasting to a comfortable 3-0 lead before the game got enveloped by darkness.

The game could not be completed after 75 minutes when the floodlights of the arena suddenly went off.

According to a post on Enymba x-handle, the match will resume at 8.00 am on Monday “ as agreed by both teams and the match officials.”

Sunday Results

  • Kwara United 1-0 Remo Stars
  • Rangers International 1-0 Abia Warriors
  • Heartland FC 2-0 Niger Tornadoes
  •  Kano Pillars 2-0 Sunshine Stars
  • Plateau United 1-0 Ikorodu City
  •  Rivers United 1-1 Akwa United
  •  Enyimba 3-0 Katsina United* Suspended
  •  Nasarawa 0-0 Bayelsa United
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