Nigerian Football
WE ARE FIRED UP NOW, DECLARE REMO STARS
BY OLADIMEJI OSHODE.
Remo Stars Football Club (RSFC) Head Coach, Daniel Ogunmodede has told the fans of the club to expect an improved performance from the boys on Wednesday.
The Sky Blue Stars are visitors to Lobi Stars FC when they face off in match day 10 fixture of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) tomorrow at the Aper Aku Stadium in Makurdi.
“The fans should expect an improved performance compared to our last game.
“In our previous games before that of Kwara United, our players were a bit complacent towards the end of those games, we have tried to rectify the mistakes of complacency and loss of concentration.
“We have tried to work more on the boys concentration at the training, we hope to compliment what we have done in away matches, add more concentration to it and we will see what will come out of it.
“Definitely, it is important we all realise where we are on the log table, the players, management and technical crew have seen it and we have made up our minds to fight the course and return to where we belong which is the top spot on the table.
“Our play hasn’t been the reflection of our position on the table but we want to try as much as possible to make it a reflection of our position on the table and our boys are ready for it.
“They are hungry to get results and you could see that with how they played against Kwara United, the boys are ready and I believe they can return us to the top spot on the table.”
Meanwhile, striker, Ogwuche Mathias shows similar optimism. He said that the Sky Blue Stars will keep fighting hard to climb up Group A table.
Remo Stars FC are visitors to Lobi Stars this Wednesday in match day 10 of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) at the Aper Aku Stadium in Makurdi.
The meeting with Lobi Stars will be the third for both sides. Lobi won 1-0 at home and played out a 1-1 draw at the Gateway International Stadium, Sagamu in 2017.
The Sky Blue Stars returned to winning ways last Wednesday after defeating Kwara United FC and two goals from Ogwuche Mathias restored confidence to his side after failing to pick a point in four straight games.
“Playing against Lobi Stars is another true test, it’s going to be a fight from start to finish and we are hopeful to pick something here so as to climb up the league table.
We will keep fighting hard because we aren’t satisfied with our present position and the only thing is for us to keep concentrating on each game we play starting from tomorrow’s game here in Makurdi.
Wednesday’s match is very important to us and getting something here is very key, we need to grab it to keeping climbing up to the top because we can’t afford to lose points again.”
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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