Nigerian Football
RIVERS SET TO DROWN THE WARRIORS
BY SAMMY WEJINYA.
The wait is finally over and action returns to the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) this weekend.
Rivers United will face El Kanemi Warriors in one of the stand out fixtures of the opening weekend of the 2017/18 NPFL campaign at the Yakubu Gowon Stadium, Port Harcourt.
United largely underwhelmed last season with only a late surge preventing a shock relegation to the second tier of Nigerian football in a season the ‘Pride of Rivers’ flew the flag of the nation in Africa’s premiere club competition, the CAF Champions League.
Reinforcements have since been made in areas of perceived weakness with areas of strength consolidated.
El Kanemi Warriors completed arguably the biggest coup of the transfer window, from a coaching perspective, as they snapped up Imama Amapakabo who was unceremoniously hounded out at Rangers after leading them to a first league title in over three decades.
Amapakabo, a keen student of the game, is one of the most astute tacticians in the land.
The youthful trainer, currently in Morocco on national assignment with the Super Eagles, knows Port Harcourt like the back of his hand having played for and coached Sharks during his younger days.
Amapakabo loves attacking football, irrespective of where the game is played, and it will be no real surprise to see the ‘ Borno Army’ give as good as they get at the Yakubu Gowon Stadium on Sunday.
“I believe that football is football anywhere and I believe that you could go get results anywhere if you (play) to win.
“I don’t come with a defensive structure to play any game. I come out to play and that is my philosophy,” Amapakabo said.
Rivers United, however, will be gunning for maximum points and will be buoyed by recent success at the just concluded Garden City pre-season tournament in Port Harcourt.
United came out tops in the four-team competition, beating Abia Warriors in the final decided at the Sharks FC Stadium.
Captain of United, Festus Austin says victory on Sunday is a major priority.
“The first match is very important and we want all three points.
“We are going to defeat El Kanemi Warriors in Port Harcourt,” he told the club’s official website, www.riversunitedfc.com.ng.
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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