Nigerian Football
Remo Stars take their unbeaten mentality to Uyo
Rave of the moment, Remo Stars are hoping to begin 2022 the way they ended 2021 by keeping a clean sheet and remaining atop of the Nigeria Professional Football League.
At the beginning of the season last month, they had a massive away win, defeating MFM of Lagos. They followed up with two home games, winning one and drawing the other to be on top of the log.
The away game with Dakkada at the sumptuous Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo will be their second away game of the season and they are hopeful of also picking maximum points as they did in Lagos.
Formerly known as Akwa Starlets, Dakkada FC lost their first game 3-0 to Kwara United in Ilorin, won their second game against MFM FC by two goals and lost their third game 1-0 against Heartland FC.
The Gbenga Ogunbote led Remo Stars will continue to have faith in Andy Okpe despite firing blank in their last game and have scored three good goals in the NPFL.
Mercurial Midfielders Dayo Ojo, Samuel Anakwe, Akanni Qudus and captain Nduka Junior all available for this encounter.
The host Dakkada will do everything to ensure they end Remo Stars’ clean sheets rub and improve their scoring prowess having conceded four (4) goals and have scored just two (2) this season.
Both sides have never met in the NPFL but the last time they met was in a lower league, Nigeria National League (NNL) and that was in 2016 where former players, Victor Mbaoma and Oche Salifu gave the Sky Blue Stars a 2-0 victory at the Otunba Dipo Dina Stadium in Ijebu Ode and the return fixture saw Dakkada defeat Remo Stars by 1-0 in Uyo.
Three (3) of the players (Awoyemi Abdulrasheed, Shuji Oshobe and Ewelike Edozie) that featured for the Sky Blue Stars against Dakkada in 2016 are still with the squad and might make the squad to face them again on Sunday evening.
A win for the Remo Stars will help keep the momentum of wanting to remain in the NPFL and also the second away victory for them. A draw for them will also help maintain their unbeaten record while a loss for them will make it their first defeat this season and a stop to their clean sheet.
On the other hand, a win for Dakkada will lift them from 14th position on the log.
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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