Nigerian Football
Taiwo Awoniyi lifts Forest out of relegation zone
Taiwo Awoniyi scored and lifted Nottingham Forest out of the relegation zone with a first away win of the Premier League season on Wednesday as Southampton remained rooted to the bottom of the table.
Forest’s 1-0 victory, thanks to only their second away goal of the season, came after Brennan Johnson pounced on a 27th minute midfield error by Brazilian defender Lyanco to set up the Nigeria international for a tap-in.
Southampton, with the Premier League’s worst home record, squandered early chances — with Che Adams firing wide after six minutes — and were booed off after a first half with no shots on target.
The boos continued after the final whistle.
The Saints have now lost their first four league games under new manager Nathan Jones, who replaced Ralph Hasenhuttl in November, and six in a row.
Jones made a triple substitution in the 64th minute but the Forest defence held firm
Steve Cooper’s promoted side, with the league’s worst away record, had not scored away since a 1-1 draw at Everton last August but could have had more with Johnson rattling the crossbar after 12 minutes.
Their last away win in the top flight was against Blackburn Rovers in 1999.
Forest, who held Chelsea to a 1-1 draw at home on New Year’s Day, went from 18th to 15th with 17 points while Southampton are on 12.
The visitors also gave a debut to new Brazilian signing Gustavo Scarpa.
“When the game settled I thought we were by far the better team in the first half, we looked a real threat,” Cooper told Sky Sports television. “We scored a good goal, brilliant decision-making from Brennan and Taiwo was able to put it in.
“I don’t think (goalkeeper) Dean (Henderson) has made a save, I don’t think there was a (Southampton) shot on goal.
“We didn’t think about Southampton and league positions and all that sort of stuff, it was just about us being what we were tonight and because of that we got the rightful result.”
Jones recognised the setback left his men with a mountain to climb.
“We gifted them the goal,” he said. “We know they are a counter-attacking side and if you play square balls or risk balls in the midfield, you give the ball away then you are susceptible to that.
“We did that and they got the goal. We never demonstrated then enough quality in possession… we had 60% of possession and didn’t convert that into chances and that’s the frustrating thing.”
History was also made on the sidelines, with Bhupinder Singh Gill becoming the Premier League’s first Sikh-Punjabi assistant referee.
-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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