Nigerian Football
Rivers To Douse MFM’s Flames
BY SAMMY WEJINYA.
Players and officials of Rivers United FC return to domestic competition after the heart-rending disappointment of failure in the CAF Champions League.
United was outclassed in Sudan last Saturday by Al-Merreikh in the second leg of their first round tie in Omdurman.
Many expected the Pride of Rivers to progress to the group stage of the competition especially after they recorded a majestic 3-0 victory in the first leg in Port Harcourt but a humbling 4-0 reverse brought Eguma Stanley’s men down to earth.
The beautiful thing about football is that the games come thick and fast and vanquished sides usually have a quick chance to gun for redemption in rapid fashion.
United have that opportunity for a reprieve on Wednesday but anything other than a five-star performance in their rescheduled Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) game against MFM is likely to end in tears as the Lagos club currently represents one of the most exciting propositions in the division.
In Sikiri Olatunbosun and Chukwuka Onuwa, the hosts possess magicians who can unlock any defence in the land with piercing passes of exquisite quality.
Stephen Odey is the name on everybody’s lips; the attacker has netted an extraordinary 10 goals in 13 matches.
The young attacker is the first player to notch up double figures this term and is responsible for 56% percent of all of his side’s goals in the NPFL (18) this season.
Leaving him in acres of space in the final third of the pitch is tantamount to sitting on a keg of gun powder and United’s defenders know he will need no second invitation to leave pain and gnashing of teeth in his wake.
Odey’s goals have come mostly through the same supply channel, Olatunbosun, who has provided assists for four of Odey’s goals this season which represents the best player-to-player combination for goals this term.
Odey spoke to the official Rivers United website on his purple patch and rich vein of form insisting he will keep his feet firmly on the ground.
“I never believed I would have scored as many as 10 goals this season but I prepared well for the season and got good advice from my elder brother, John.
“We will not tale about what we (MFM) want to achieve now until the end of the season,” Odey told www.riversunitedfc.com.ng.
Rivers United’s troops are crest-fallen following the unfortunate expedition to Omdurman at the weekend and need a quick response to reassure the teeming faithful of the Pride of Rivers.
Chief coach of United, Willy Udube says defeat is clearly not on the cards from the perspective of the Port Harcourt club.
“We have to get something in Lagos as a result of our position on the table,” he said. United currently occupies 17th spot on the NPFL standings with 14 points from 10 matches while MFM is in second place on the log with 24 points from 13 matches.
The miserable run of Akwa United and Ikorodu City came to an end after six games in the Nigerian Premier League this season. Both teams were initially glued at the bottom of the league table.
They now got respite as Akwa United beat Kano Pillar by 2-0 while Ikorodu City even did what could be considered an upset, beating Bendel Insurance 3-0.
Remo Stars bounced back to the top of the log after a 3-0 defeat of Nasarawa United. Shooting Stars are yet to get their rhythm this season, playing a barren draw with Enyimba in Ibadan.
Kwara United who got their first full points of the season last week after a 1-0 defeat of Remo Stars could not consolidate as they were beaten 1-0 by Abia Warriors.
Heartland under Emmanuel Amuneke are gradually recovering as they got a valuable away draw against El-Kanemi Warriors.
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.
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!
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.
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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