Nigerian Football
OVUNDA THE HERO, AS RIVERS UNITED OUST LOBI STARS TO REACH AITEO CUP SEMI FINAL
BY SAMMY WEJINYA
Unheralded goalkeeper, Darlington Ovunda was the unlikely hero
for Rivers United as the ‘Pride of Rivers’ defeated Lobi Stars 5-3 on penalty
shoot outs to reach the semifinals of Nigeria’s oldest football competition,
the AITEO Cup.
Ovunda saved once and converted the decisive kick in the shootout as United put
themselves within striking distance of the showpiece game.
The Port Harcourt club will now meet Niger Tornadoes in the last four in the
competition.
Friday’s quarter final decided at the Dipo Dina Stadium, Ijebu-Ode was one of
few clear cut goal scoring opportunities so it was unsurprising that the stand
out moment in regulation time was an extraordinary save by United goalkeeper,
Abiodun Akande to keep out Kadiri Timileyin’s goal bound effort in the 79th
minute.
United’s best chance in an extremely tight first was a backward header by Ossy
Martins which the Lobi goalkeeper, Kayode Olufemi stopped with ease in the 25th
minute.
Two minutes later, Lobi almost took the lead but a fine Akande save after the
attacker hit a stunning half volley from just inside the box denied the pacy
Timiletyin.
Lobi enjoyed the better chances in the second half and came close to taking the
lead 11 minutes after the restart.
It was the ever lively Timileyin at the tip of the Lobi spear again as his
curling effort from eight yards failed to trouble the outstanding Akande in the
United goal.
United barely had a sniff in the second half but Lobi’s forwards were also
frustrated for long spells as defences dominated.
With penalties looming, the Technical Manager of United, Stanley Eguma made an
inspired move, withdrawing Akande and throwing in the largely unknown Ovunda in
his place with less than five minutes remaining.
Eguma also withdrew Bright Onyedikachi and threw penalty expert, Chigozie
Ihunda into the fray.
The substitutions would prove to be a masterstroke as United dominated in the
shootout.
Konan Ruffin, Temple Emekayi, Ihunda and Bakary Bamba stepped up in nerveless
fashion to convert United’s first four kicks in the shootout.
Lobi were however staring down the barrel after their first four kicks in the
shootout.
Olamidare Ojo, Ebube Duru and Samuel Matthias all scored for the ‘Pride of
Benue’ but a stunning save by Ovunda to deny Lobi’s first penalty taker, Sikiru
Alimi meant that United’s fifth kick was the a potential decider.
So it proved as the man for the big occasion, Ovunda stepped to covert and put
United into the semifinal.
Ovunda was understandably pleased with his heroic display as he shared his
sentiments with the club’s official website, www.riversunitedfc.com.ng.
“I can’t express the joy I feel right now. I feel so happy and I thank my
teammates for the support they gave me,” he said.
“Now, we want to do well in the semifinal and try to reach the final,” he
concluded.
Eguma also fielded questions after the hard-fought win.
“Once we saw the draw and knew we would face Lobi, we knew we were in for a
very big battle.
“I studied Lobi at the Super Six where I watched them play.
“They succeeded in stopping us from scoring during regulation time which was
impressive (from their perspective) as we had been scoring goals in the
previous rounds.
“We showed more composure during the shootout and deserved to win in the end,”
he said.
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
-
AFCON5 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!