Nigerian Football
RETURNING OGENE REFLECTS ON PLATEAU UNITED’S RELEGATION STRUGGLES
BY FISAYO DAIRO
Winners of 2017 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL), Plateau
United are one of the surprise names in the relegation zone of the 2018/19
league groups with just two rounds of matches remaining.
Plateau United, coached by Abdu Maikaba won just
one of their first seven league matches this season and have failed to
sufficiently recover from that early season lethargy, compared to what their
group leaders Akwa United (who also failed to win any of their first four
games) have done.
While Maikaba’s former side Akwa United have
already secured a place in the season-ending Super Six playoff, his current
side Plateau United, still occupy an inglorious position in the red zone with
dangers of the drop hovering over the hitherto beautiful skies of Jos.
Plateau welcomed back their first choice centre
back Elijah Ogene to the starting lineup in their Match Day 20 clash at fellow
relegation battlers Go Round on Thursday and he contributed immensely to their
1-1 draw.
“It feels very good to be back, I was out
of action after our game in Maiduguri (four weeks ago) when I fell sick. I
thank God I’m back and better now and thankful for the point we got in Omoku as
well,” said Ogene to www.npfl.ng
The Genesis
Ogene traced the genesis of his team’s struggles
this season to the initial absence of their Coach and the crowd disturbances
that led to their playing home games away. With their head coach Maikaba away
with the Nigeria Under 20s preparing for the Under 20 Africa Cup of Nations in
Niger Republic, the team endured a torrid start to the campaign.
A home draw to FC Ifeanyiubah on Match Day One
was trailed by crowd disturbance, which meant that the team was banished to
Ilorin and Lafia for their next two home games. The team struggled.
“It wasn’t easy at the beginning. We
started very badly and the banishment did not help us too as it meant we were
always on the road every two days.
“Thank God we started getting it right
especially in this second stanza and by the grace of God, we will escape the
relegation. That’s what we’re really fighting for now,” said Ogene.
Hope of glory in the face of demotion
In spite of their troubles, Ogene still believes
his side can take the Cup route to land a continental spot at the end of the
football season in Nigeria. With Nigeria’s four slots in CAF competitions
restored, three teams will qualify to represent the country from the league
while a fourth will emerge from the Cup winners.
The Port Harcourt-born defender who featured in
each of Plateau United’s games in the CAF Champions League and Confederation
Cup in 2018 says once they are successful with their bid to avoid relegation,
they will turn focus on the AITEO Cup.
“One thing about the season is this
unpredictable nature so we just want to fight it out and make sure we escape
relegation by May 26. After then, we have hopes that we will do well in the
AITEO Cup and we will do better in the Cup to get a Confederation Cup
ticket.”
The Tin City side, have an easy fixture on paper
when they welcome already relegated Yobe Desert Stars to Jos for Match Day 21
on Monday. Ogene however insists they have to be careful against the North
Easterners.
“That they have relegated doesn’t mean they
cannot cause problems so we will be ready to do our jobs professionally and
make sure we get the three points at stake,” he concluded.
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
NFF Communication director unfolds 20 Points of a 20-hour ordeal on Libyan soil
African football legends, Adebayor and Aubameyang condemn Libya’s treatment of Super Eagles
BREAKING! CAF wades into the Libya-Nigeria Airport episode
Breaking! Uzoho suspended from Super Eagles’ next match with Sierra Leone
No longer Super League as CAF changes name of its new clubs competition
AIU releases its report on Tobi Amusan
-
Uncategorized1 week ago
Players boycott Libyan national team
-
AFCON4 days ago
Billiat’s penalty seals Zimbabwe’s 1-0 win over Namibia
-
AFCON1 week ago
Eguavoen unfolds Super Eagles’ squad for back-to-back duel with Libya
-
AFCON6 days ago
Facts & Figures as AFCON 2025 qualifiers enter Matchday 3
-
AFCON6 days ago
AFCON 2025 in Morocco: Everything you need to know
-
AFCON5 days ago
Libya’s captain, Faisal Al-Badri alleges poor treatment in Nigeria
-
Uncategorized7 days ago
CAF compels Kwasi Appiah to step down from Ghana FA
-
Uncategorized1 week ago
Fastest World Cup final scorer is dead!