Uncategorized
TITANIC CLASH AS RIVERS UNITED AND KANO PILLARS CLASH
BY SAMMY WEJINYA.
Two of the grand football institutions in Nigerian football, Rivers United and Kano Pillars go toe to toe in a special place in a matter of days as the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) enters match day 21.
The timing could have been better for one of the two sides whose indifferent form hardly lends this credence to their case as regards collecting a creditable result at an extremely difficult place.
However, the permanent class of these two sides lends this fixture substance.
Panache and style, the grandeur of the stage and a sense of occasion which could potentially be near intoxicating on Sunday, February 23, 2020 as the Pride of Rivers go toe to toe against Sai Masu Gida in one of the stand out fixtures of Match Day 21 of this weekend’s NPFL offering.
The size of the task is massive for Sai Masu Gida – no club has managed to defeat Rivers United FC at their own stately patch, the Yakubu Gowon Stadium, Port Harcourt, this season but Pillars’ head coach, Ibrahim Musa is confident his charges can force down the bitter pill of defeat down the throat of their ultra-consistent hosts.
“We are well-prepared. We arrive in Port Harcourt with confidence and I am sure we will amass the three maximum points at stake,” Musa told the official Rivers United FC website, www.riversunitedfc.com.ng.
If Kano Pillars are to succeed and pull off a result which no side has managed to do so far this term (defeat Rivers United in Port Harcourt), one man – club captain, Rabiu Ali – will have to shine like a million stars and play his best game of the season as United are notoriously shrewd, defensively, especially when they play in front of their own supporters.
Ali is not the only man who can hurt the Port Harcourt darlings though.
Joshua Enaholo, on his day, is one of the finest shot stoppers in the division and has the talent to keep the marauding hosts at bay.
Victor Dennis, Nasiru Sani, Ike Chinedu, Emmanuel Anyanwu, Abdullahi Musa, Auwalu Ali, David Ebuka, home boy, Nwagua Nyima and Dosso Saib whose exquisitely-taken free-kick in the colours of Niger Tornadoes famously knocked Rivers United out of the 2019 AITEO Cup, are also important talent capable of holding sway at any venue.
Pillars are extremely strong on the road. They have lost just three times in ten away fixtures and have the fifth best away record in the division next season.
Sai Masu Gida have scored in seven of their ten away fixtures this term and have conceded an average of not more than one goal a game, at most, in their away games.
Rivers United however appear to be in fine fettle.
The Port Harcourt club is still riding the crest of a wave following their gutsy 1-1 draw in Ilorin against the Kwara United club match day 20.
Technical manager, Stanley Eguma knows Pillars will represent sturdy opposition but as always, the experienced trainer is looking to paying attention to the minutest of details as he looks to deliver a positive result for the high-flying hosts.
“It is a big game, any time, any day. We are not going to underrate Kano Pillars because of their position in the log (Pillars are currently in ninth place while Rivers United sit in third).
“We know that they are a big club in Nigeria so we are going to prepare very well, work on our lapses and pick up the three points which will be very important for us,” he said.
UEFA appears poised for an emergency vote on suspending Israel from European competition next week, with national federations scrambling to position themselves amid mounting political pressure following calls for action.
The brewing crisis intensified this week when United Nations experts called for Israel’s suspension from international football amid the unfolding genocide in occupied Palestinian territory.
A source confirmed that Europe’s soccer body could potentially decide next week to vote on whether to suspend Israel from European competition.
Should UEFA vote to ban Israel, it would put the organisation on a collision course with the government of the United States — co-hosts for the 2026 World Cup — which is vehemently against such a motion.
“We will absolutely work to fully stop any effort to attempt to ban Israel’s national soccer team from the World Cup,” a spokesperson for the U.S. state department told Sky News.
But even though UEFA has the power to suspend Israel or its clubs from their competitions, it may not be able to stop them from competing in World Cup qualifiers, which fall under the ambit of global soccer body FIFA.
The general secretaries of all UEFA national associations are meeting this week in Marbella, where Israel is not officially on the agenda, but officials expect UEFA to call an emergency vote next week.
FIFA did not respond to a Reuters request for comment while UEFA declined to comment.
Palestinian Football Association president Jibril Rajoub said Israelis should not be allowed to participate in any matches, whether they are under UEFA or FIFA.
“Israel has violated the principles, values and FIFA’s statutes. Therefore, I believe that Israel should be sanctioned,” Rajoub told TV2.
“The sanctions should come from UEFA and FIFA.”
WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS
Israel’s national team are set to face Norway and Italy, the top two teams in their World Cup qualifying group, next month.
“We don’t have any indications that we are facing such an act (UEFA suspension),” a spokesperson for the Israel Football Association told Reuters.
“We are focusing on our international matches against Norway and Italy.”
Norwegian broadcaster NRK reported the Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) is one of the member associations that have been the driving force behind calling for a meeting on the Israel situation. The NFF declined to comment.
Lise Klaveness, the president of the NFF and a member of the UEFA Executive Committee, has also been vocal about the crisis in Gaza ahead of her country’s home game against Israel on October 11.
“Neither we nor other organisations can remain indifferent to the humanitarian suffering and disproportionate attacks that the civilian population in Gaza has been subjected to for a long time,” Klaveness said in a statement last month.
“We want to donate the proceeds (from the game) to a humanitarian organisation that saves lives in Gaza every day and provides active emergency aid on the ground.”
The Dutch football federation (KNVB) said it knows nothing about a vote to suspend Israel.
“As soon as the football association receives a message about this, it will take a position,” the KNVB told Dutch outlet NOS.
Last week, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Israel should be banned from international sports competitions. However, officials from the Spanish FA (RFEF) have kept a low profile on the matter.
Israel maintains that its war is not against the population of Gaza but against the Hamas militant group whose fighters led the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies, and precipitated the war.
The subsequent war in Gaza has killed more than 65,000 people, according to local health officials.
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
A hat-trick from George Agha and a sublime free-kick goal from David Edeh ensured a comfortable start for five-time world champions Nigeria in the WAFU-B U17 Championship, as the Golden Eaglets routed Baby Cheetahs of Benin Republic 4 -1 in Yamoussoukro on Wednesday.
Agha converted from the spot three minutes into the game after Boluwatife Thompson was hacked inside the box.
Edeh displayed fantastic football artistry to score from a free-kick in the 5th minute of the encounter.
The Eaglets were in cruise control as Agha bagged his brace in the 14th minute. The charges of Manu Garba were very dominant with a three-goal advantage.
Warris Soumanou in goal for Benin Republic was caught napping and his error of judgement gave the Eaglets another goal after a beautiful exchange of passes and dribbles between Thompson and Edeh, which set up Agha for his hat-trick in the 32nd minute.
It was raining goals and it was the turn of the Beninoise in the 45th minute, as a low drive from Jeremy Zannou gave the Baby Cheetahs a consolation goal.
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
Mohamed Salah’s dramatic stoppage-time penalty ensured Liverpool maintained their winning start to the Premier League season with a 1-0 victory at promoted side Burnley on Sunday.
With British record signing Alexander Isak forced to wait for his Liverpool debut having been left out the squad for the trip to Lancashire, the champions struggled to break down a dogged home side in the first half.
After a regroup at the break, the visitors upped the ante in the second half, with Dominik Szoboszlai finally forcing a fine save from Martin Dubravka in the Burnley goal.
Burnley were holding on for a well-earned point with ease, before the ball agonisingly struck substitute Hannibal Mejbri’s arm in the penalty area and Salah slotted the spot kick into the net in the 95th minute to break home hearts.
Liverpool are still to really get going this season, requiring a winner in the last 10 minutes of all four of their league victories so far. The goal that clinched an undeserved success at Turf Moor was certainly the most fortunate.
After one of the longest transfer sagas in Premier League history finally reached its expected conclusion, Liverpool supporters were forced to wait two weeks for their first glimpse of their 125-million-pound ($169.45-million) goal machine due to the international break.
While coach Arne Slot said this week that Isak would have to be utilised carefully due to his previous injuries and lack of action so far this season, the Swede was still expected to at least be on the bench at Turf Moor.
The wait goes on as, without their expensive new forward, Liverpool mustered just one shot on target in the first half, from left-back Andrew Robertson.
Burnley, who conceded the fewest goals in English football league history last term to earn them promotion, otherwise frustrated the champions with ease. Even Lesley Ugochukwu’s red card for two bookings in the 84th minute did not seem to fluster them.
Even without Isak, Liverpool still had much attacking talent on the Turf Moor pitch but they just could not find that killer pass.
Salah was especially below par but he made no mistake in the most pressurised moment after Hannibal had stuck up an arm to block Jeremie Frimpong’s cross
The champions’ impressive Premier League goalscoring streak stretches to 38 games nonetheless, their longest such run in the competition.
-Reuters
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
- World Cup1 week ago
BREAKING: At last FIFA’s Axe falls on South Africa!
- World Cup1 week ago
South Africa to Appeal FIFA Ruling Over Mokoena Eligibility Case
- Nigerian Football1 week ago
Super Eagles Set for Double Friendly Showdown with Venezuela and Colombia in USA
- World Cup1 week ago
Sport Minister Orders Probe into SAFA over Bafana’s Costly Points Deduction
- World Cup6 days ago
FIFA Sanction on South Africa Offers Super Eagles a Lifeline — But a Lesson from History Looms
- U-20 FOOTBALL1 week ago
Two penalty appeal lost as Flying Eagles stumble at first hurdle
- World Cup4 days ago
Super Eagles Walk Tightrope as Nine Key Players Risk Suspension in World Cup Qualifiers
- World Cup5 days ago
Osimhen Returns as Chelle Names 23-Man Squad for Crucial World Cup Qualifiers