Nigerian Football
NIGERIAN-BORN ADARABIOYO’S OWN GOAL SINKS FULHAM
Tottenham Hotspur rode their luck in the quest for a top-four finish in the Premier League with a 1-0 victory at Fulham on Thursday (March 4) thanks to an own-goal by Tosin Adarabioyo and the intervention of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).
Victory dragged Tottenham back into the race for a Champions League spot with Jose Mourinho’s eighth-placed side on 42 points from 26 matches, four points behind Everton in fourth, ahead of Sunday’s clash with Crystal Palace.
“In this period we need three points. Fulham are a very good team,” Tottenham’s Toby Alderweireld told BT Sport. “We should be better on the ball but without it we did everything we could to keep a clean sheet.”
Seconds after an unmarked Harry Kane failed to head his team in front, Tottenham took the lead from a quick counter-attack in the 19th minute when Son Heung-min’s cross was met by Dele Alli before going over the line following a touch by Adarabioyo.
Fulham began the second half brightly and thought they had equalised through Josh Maja but his effort was chalked off by VAR after Davinson Sanchez kicked the ball onto Mario Lemina’s hand as Tottenham looked to clear.
“For the players and maybe referees it’s a difficult one because some are high intensity and not on purpose but they get given,” Spurs midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg said.
“As players I think what we wish is some kind of consistency in the reviews with the handball situations but I haven’t seen it so I can’t say if it was on or not.”
Midfielder Alli looked sharp in his first league start since the opening day of the season and combined well with Son late in the first half, but the forward was unable to head in the England international’s cross from a tight angle.
Fulham pushed on after going behind as Antonee Robinson weaved his way into Spurs’ penalty area in the dying seconds of the first half and found Maja who set up Lemina, but the Gabon midfielder’s shot flew over the crossbar.
Fulham stayed 18th in the table and deep in relegation trouble, three points behind Newcastle United and Brighton & Hove Albion.
-Reuters
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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