Nigerian Football
Makinwa Surprisingly Claims ABS’ Success
BY WALE MUSTAPHA.
Ahead the last match day of the season, Abubakar Bukola Saraki (ABS) FC Coach, Henry Makinwa undertook a self assessment of the side’s performance and rated it as successful by the team’s set objectives.
He didn’t exactly say what that objective is or are but it is general knowledge that the club is on the brink of relegating to the lower division with a match away to Nasarawa United.
ABS returned to the top flight last season from the second tier and started their campaign on a bright note with impressive results and exciting performances.
But the Ilorin based club had a dip in form midway through the season and shipped further down to relegation belt and are hoping to beat the drop going into the final day of this season.
Keen observers would reckon that the season has been miserable for ABS, tagged as giant killers at some point in the campaign but Makinwa won’t accept that rating and has argued that the club is champions in their class and targets.
Yet he admitted there have been issues with funding which he attributed to be the major setback for the club to compete against better funded opponents.
“It has been a very productive, positive season, and we are champions in terms of achieving our primary objectives which is empowerment for the youths.
“We are playing with school boys, we have almost 15 to 17 calls for these boys to go to another bigger clubs, the objective is achieved already, that’s what the proprietor (Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki) wanted, to empower the youths.
“We have Igbos, Hausa, Yoruba, Efik, Tivs, everybody in the team to be empowered, but he said to us, pick the best legs irrespective of his tribe, on merits and let them empower themselves and their families and I think that one is achieved.
“To compete with others is another question because we are playing and competing with millionaire clubs, they have a lot of millions to buy players, pay big bonuses and salaries to pick the best players all over Africa.
“FC IfeanyiUbah has almost seven to eight international players, Akwa United, Enyimba Int’l, Plateau United all have big players, so it’s very tough for us to compete,” Makinwa told npfl.ng
Makinwa who played in Spain for Rayo Vallecano insists the blame for ABS’ dismal season should spread across everyone who has played any role in the club including himself.
He however called for more focus, support and commitment for the club to end the season on a high.
“Of course I won’t be able to say that, others could see it, maybe it’s from players but I have my fault as well and everybody with the club has his own part of the fault including the management, the players, all of us.
“But I have tried to do things correctly on merit according to my thinking and philosophy, so if I’ve done anything wrong I don’t know may be people would see.
“If I have the chance to be here again, I will do the same thing I’ve been doing, nothing wrong about it, but if we (ABS FC) have money to compete I bet you I will win the league without losing a game, if I have some money other (clubs) have and the players I wanted to have I will win the league unbeaten.
“I’m happy we got over our last home game of the season with a win (ABS FC came back from Angola down to beat Abia Warriors 2-1 last Sunday in Ilorin) It was a tension soaked match and it was a big game because we were a bit psychologically not stable, Abia were too physical but I was positive we would turn it around and happy we did.
“We are still pushing it (survival from relegation) to the last day in the league, still the same intention, same approach, but with a renewed focus, commitment and support from everybody in the team, we hope to win there (against Nasarawa United in Lafia) and we hope other teams get bad results so that we can stay up,” concludes Makinwa.
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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