Nigerian Football
At Last, League Leaders Plateau United Produce VAT Goal Winner
League leaders, Plateau United produced their very first VAT Wonder Goal award winner in Emmanuel Odafe who narrowly beat Nojeem Raji of Shooting Stars in one of the most keenly contested competitions since the award was re-introduced by the League Management Company (LMC) at the start of the second stanza of the season.
On the two voting platforms, Odafe had stiff contests with each of the other two nominees, narrowly defeating Raji with five votes on the twitter polls while on the website polls; he tied with El-Kanemi Warriors’ Tchoanfine Pade with 15 votes apiece.
The Plateau United forward polled combined votes of 77 to edge Raji who secured 66 votes and Pade whose combined total stood at 36.
The VAT Wonder Goal of Match Day 32 had all three nominated players scoring off headers.
Odafe connected a powerful header to a free kick in their match against Shooting Stars on the 15th minute. Raji in Bauchi had jumped highest to head in Shooting Star’s only goal in their 2-1 loss to hosts, Wikki Tourists while Pade headed in El-Kanemi’s solitary strike in their 1-0 defeat of Akwa United.
Odafe thus becomes the 13th VAT Wonder Goal award winner and with it, the N150, 000 cash prize half of which will be donated to a Charity the player will nominate from within the state where the club is based.
The VAT Wonder Goal is awarded to the player whose goal is adjudged the most outstanding by fans who participate in online polls set up by the LMC on the NPFL website and twitter handle.
It is a social investment asset initiated to deepen club and community engagement through charity works. The award is supported by the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) which adopts football as a platform to enlighten citizens on their civic obligations to pay tax.
Past winners include Ayo Saka (Rivers United), Friday Ubong (Akwa United), Ochowechi Salefu (Remo Stars and Pascal Seka (FC IfeanyiUbah).
Others are Ahmed Usman (Wikki Tourists), Wasiu Alalade (ABS), Rabiu Ali (Kano Pillars), Sani Abbani (Gombe United and Victor Chidume of Remo Stars. The rest are Shedrack Asiegbu of Abia Warriors, Emeka Ogbugh of Rivers United and Ikechukwu Ibenegbu of Enyimba.
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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