Nigerian Football
ORIENTAL DERBY AS ENYIMBA, RANGERS FACE OFF IN NPFL SUPER SIX OPENER
Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) is on the last bend and it will be ushered in by a big oriental derby between two former league champions Enyimba and Rangers International in Lagos on Tuesday.
As announced on the final day of last season, the tournament is a round rubbing format that will see all the teams play each other to determine the clubs that’ll fly the country’s flag in the CAF Champions League competition next year.
2015 champions Enyimba and 2016 winners Rangers were the first names out of the pot during a mini draw ceremony for the season-ending championship held at the Head Office of the League Management Company (LMC), Osun Crescent, Maitama in Abuja on Tuesday afternoon.
Rangers finished top of Group A during the regular season while Enyimba were seven points behind in third and both sides will be joined by four more teams (Lobi Stars, Akwa United, Kano Pillars and FC Ifeanyiubah) in the playoff designed to determine three of the four Nigerian representatives to CAF Inter-club competitions next season as well as the eventual league winners.
The tournament will last for eight days; starting on Tuesday 4th June and ending on June 12 at the Agege Stadium, nicknamed the Soccer Temple in Lagos; a neutral venue for all participating teams.
Three matches will hold on each match day with one day of rest observed in between each of the five match days. Games will commence each day at 3pm in the afternoon with the last match to be held at 7pm.
Enyimba and Rangers will kickoff at 3pm on Tuesday afternoon before Lobi Stars face FC Ifeanyiubah at 5pm. The opening day schedule will be concluded with a third meeting of the season between Kano Pillars and Akwa United.
The top two teams at the end of the mini-league format will qualify to represent Nigeria in the 2019/2020 CAF Champions League while the third placed team will join this season’s AITEO Cup winners in the Confederation Cup next term.
FULL FIXTURES
Tuesday June 4:
- 3PM: Enyimba FC vs Rangers International
- 5PM: FC Ifeanyiubah vs Lobi Stars
- 7PM: Kano Pillars vs Akwa United
Thursday June 6:
- 3PM: Akwa United vs FC Ifeanyiubah
- 5PM: Rangers Int’l vs Lobi Stars
- 7PM: Kano Pillars vs Enyimba
Saturday June 8:
- 3PM: Kano Pillars vs FC Ifeanyiubah
- 5PM: Lobi Stars vs Enyimba
- 7PM: Akwa United vs Rangers Int’l
Monday June 10:
- 3PM: Rangers Int’l vs Kano Pillars
- 5PM: Akwa United vs Lobi Stars
- 7PM: Enyimba Int’l vs FC Ifeanyiubah
Wednesday June 12:
- 3PM: FC Ifeanyiubah vs Rangers Int’l
- 5PM: Enyimba vs Akwa United
- 7PM: Lobi Stars vs Kano Pillars
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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