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Nigerian Football

Okpotu, Udi Win Nigeria’s League Bloggers Awards

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BY GEORGE AKPAYEN.
Lobi Stars striker Anthony Okpotu and Duke Udi of Sunshine Stars have emerged the Player and Manager for the month of July in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) respectively.
Okpotu and Udi were named winners for the monthly recognition organised by the League Bloggers Awards (LBA) on Tuesday for their outstanding performances in July.
The Lobi Stars forward claimed the player’s award ahead of Gombe United youngster Sani Abbani, Akwa United’s Musa Newman and Godwin Obaje of FC Ifeanyiubah.
Okpotu, who was also among the shortlists for the June award, accounted for half of his club’s eight goals in July and provided two assists. The Lobi scored in four consecutive matches.
He scored against the league champions Enugu Rangers and Remo Stars in home games while his other goals were on the road at Katsina United and Enyimba.
In the manager’s category, Udi finished ahead of Fidelis Ilechukwu of MFM, Fatai Amoo of 3SC and Akwa United’s Abdu Maikaba.
Udi led Sunshine Stars through six matches in July and guided them to four wins and two defeats. Only MFM FC under Ilechukwu matched the record of Sunshine Stars in that month.
However, Udi’s men won two matches on the road – defeating ABS FC 4-2 in Ilorin and Rivers United 1-0 in Port Harcourt – to help him claim the manager’s prize for July.
Okpotu and Udi will be honoured at a later by the LBA.

PAST WINNERS THIS SEASON

JUNE 2017
Player
: Nyima Nwagua (Kano Pillars)
Manager: Ibrahim Musa (Kano Pillars)

MAY 2017
Player: Kingsley Eduwo (Lobi Stars)
Manager: Yaw Preko (FC Ifeanyiubah)

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APRIL 2017
Player:
Alhassan Ibrahim (Akwa United)
Manager: Abdu Maikaba (Akwa United)

MARCH 2017
Player
: Stephen Odey (MFM FC)
Manager: Fidelis Ilechukwu (MFM FC)

FEBRUARY 2017
Player
: Sunday Adetunji (Abia Warriors)
Manager: Ladan Bosso (El-Kanemi Warriors)

JANUARY 2017
Player:
Stephen Odey (MFM FC)
Manager: Kennedy Boboye (Plateau Utd)

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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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