Nigerian Football

AKWA UNITED’S BRAZILIAN COACH, DREAMS NIGERIAN LEAGUE TITLE

Published

5 years ago

June 8, 2019

Brazilian Rafael Everton believes that his Akwa United’s hard won victory against FC IfeanyiUbah represents a turning point that has re-positioned the club as possible title winner.

Everton had seen his side come from behind to beat FC IfeanyiUbah, his first club as a coach in Nigeria, 2-1 in a game the opponents ran his squad ragged but failed to convert their chances.

The Brazilian would admit afterwards that though they had a match plan of containing the younger players from Nnewi, scoring first against his side stunned him to rethink the plan.

“We have seen other results and now Akwa United are fully incontention with a win and a draw from the two games played so far.

“That is four points and we have to see other results”, Everton said at the post match briefing before Rangers saw off Lobi Stars 2-1 and Pillars defeated Enyimba 2-0.

He said FC IfeanyiUbah players stretched his players to their limits taken advantage of their relative younger age but insisted that their tactics worked.

“It was a very tactical match in which I had to replace my captain, Mfon Udoh and the other striker before halftime.

“We needed players who can contain the very fast and younger players on the other side. We allowed them to run but also tried to keep the ball”

“FC IfeanyiUbah are a very good side, it was never going to be easy playing such bunch of young players.

“So, we are happy with the three points and though it was my former club, there are no sentiments, the three points was very important to me”, the Brazilian who also had a brief stint at Abia Warriors ended on a jocular note.

Akwa United plays Rangers International in their next fixture at 7pm Saturday night in the last game of MatchDay 3. The Uyo club are joint tops with Kano Pillars on four points.

In other games, FC IfeanyiUbah will play Kano Pillars while Enyimba and Lobi Stars meet in the second fixture of the day. Both teams aew on three points with Rangers while FC IfeanyiUbah are yet to pick a point.

Nigerian Football

Behold! Nigeria Football’s October 8 Magic

Published

5 hours ago

October 8, 2024

Kunle Solaja

Nigeria’s Godwin Iwelumo terrorising Egypt’s goalmouth 47 years ago in an October 8 match. Nigeria won 4-0 inflicting the worst ever defeat on Egypt in a World Cup qualifier.

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.

Nigerian Football

Rivers flow to the top!

Published

2 days ago

October 6, 2024

Kunle Solaja

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 85^th minute.

Sunday Results