Nigerian Football
At Half-way Mark Lobi Stars Lead The NPF As Enyimba Beat 3SC In Ibadan –
Lobi Stars’ ambition to return to the continental scene seems to remain alive as the club has held tenaciously to the top spot of the Nigeria Premier League which hit its halfway mark this weekend.
It has been the most competitive season ever as the top position has been held by as many as seven clubs from MatchDay I and the gaps separating the teams are very narrow.
Former champions, Lobi Stars of Makurdi who have led in the past two match days maintained the top spot after a lone-goal win over Plateau United on Sunday evening at the township stadium.
It was Suur Kumaga’s lone strike in the 23rd minute that cancelled Remo Stars’ momentary lead at the top following an early-minute goal against Abia Warriors at the Ikenne stadium in the 8th minute.
The win by Lobi Stars takes the team to 36 points with a goal difference while Remo Stars who also won 2-1 at home against Abia Warriors are on 35 points with 10 goal difference.
At the Lekan Salami Stadium, Enyimba recorded the biggest win of the night with a last-minute win over the home side with a 2-1 win.
The massive away win shot the team to the third position on the log with 32 points.
Chijioke Mboama silenced the Ibadan crowd with a 56th-minute penalty but Ademola Kareem restored parity in the 83rd minute but attempt to go for the winner backfired when the visitors scored in the injury time to leave the scoreline at 2-1.
In the other matches, Gombe United played a 1-1 draw at home with Bayelsa United while Akwa United continued their resurgence with a lone-goal win against Enugu Rangers.
Two goals from Idris Suleiman and Ali Rabiu assured Kano Pillars maximum points against visiting Heartland of Owerri with a 2-1 scoreline.
Niger Tornadoes and Katsina United played a goalless scoreline.
Matches resume for the second stanza this weekend with reverse fixtures of the just concluded week matches.
Meanwhile, two outstanding matches will come up mid-week with Enugu Rangers at home to River United while Heartland will host Kwara United in Owerri.
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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