Nigerian Football
SUPER EAGLES’ STARS, ARIBO & BALOGUN IN HISTORIC SCOTTISH LEAGUE WIN WITH RANGERS
Two Nigeria national football team players, Leon Balogun and Joe Aribo have won the Scottish Premier League with Rangers to end the club’s 10-year wait. The achievement came following Celtic’s goalless outing at Dundee United on Sunday.
Steven Gerrard’s team moved to the brink of sealing the championship for the 55th time in their history when they beat St Mirren 3-0 on Saturday, sparking wild scenes of celebration both inside and outside Ibrox.
And now they have been mathematically confirmed as champions after bitter rivals Celtic dropped points in a goalless draw at Tannadice.
Celtic saw 26 shots on goal come and go as they failed to score at Dundee United, the result leaving them 20 points behind Rangers with only 18 left to play for.
Liverpool were among the clubs to offer their congratulations to Rangers as the final whistle in Dundee sealed the end of their long climb back to the top.
Former Rangers player and manager Graeme Souness said in the Sky Sports studio: ‘I’m delighted for Steven Gerrard and all his team. It’s been a long time coming.
Celtic have had a period of domination that has been, let’s say, uncomfortable for us Rangers supporters. They totally deserve it, they have been fantastic all season and I just wish I was in Glasgow right now.
‘There is part of me that wishes Celtic had won today so Rangers had to go to Parkhead and winning it there which would have compounded Celtic’s problems but I’ll take it.
‘They have never had turmoil in their history like they’ve had in the last 10 years after being thrown out the league – unfairly in my opinion – and all the anti-rangers brigade that came out the woodwork up there.
‘When you’re in the third tier and you’ve got 50,000 people turning up to your stadium, that’s a proper support. So I’m absolutely delighted, there will be some parties going on right now.
‘He has worked away quietly, this is his third year. Nothing was going to happen overnight simply because of where Rangers were. It was a slow burn but he’s got them back and now they are reaping the rewards of all the hard work they have put in.’
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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