Nigerian Football
LOBI STARS, PILLARS, ENYIMBA CHASE SUPER-6 QUALIFICATION; NPFL SEASON APPROACHES FINISH LINE
BY MUYIWA AKINTUNDE
The regular season of the 2018/19 Nigeria Professional Football League features its penultimate round of matches on Monday evening with Rangers in Group A and Akwa United (Group B) the only sides assured of the Super Six title playoff. The top three teams in each group will challenge for the crown at a later date using a format yet to be announced.
In Group A, defending champions Lobi Stars, Enyimba and MFM – in that order – are among the teams queueing behind leaders Rangers, while Kano Pillars, El-Kanemi Warriors and FC Ifeanyi Ubah trail Akwa United in Group B.
Lobi Stars will all but seal their top three finish if they beat visiting Wikki Tourists. The first leg in Bauchi ended 1-1.
Wikki Tourists themselves have not given up hope of being one of the number when the Super Six is constituted. If Bauchi side win their final two matches of the season – the last being at home to Rangers – they may well be in the mix for the title battle.
Enyimba, in third place in the group, welcome to Aba Niger Tornadoes with whom they played goalless in the first leg. If they triumph, the People’s Elephant will also boost their aspiration of contesting for the title they last won in 2015.
Tornadoes will be relegated if they lose in Aba.
In Lagos, fourth placed MFM welcome Katsina United; both had played 1-1 in Katsina earlier in the season. The Olukoya Boys’ inconsistency have caused them troubles. From leading the group up till midway in the season, MFM have now fallen out of the top three and require favours from other teams to bounce back, even if they win their last two matches.
Katsina United themselves remain in contention for the top three but that hope will be extinguished if they don’t pick maximum points in Lagos.
Sunshine Stars may be a step above the bottom four but have three teams on their heels, including their hosts this evening Bendel Insurance, who will leap out of the relegation zone if they pull their sixth victory of the season. Too many draws (10 in all, like Lobi Stars) have landed Insurance in troubled waters. Both sides played 1-1 in Akure in the first leg.
Kwara United are condemned to beat Remo Stars if they are not to go down like their visitors. Remo Stars, who are playing their last matches in the topflight, triumphed 2-1 in the first leg.
In Group B, Kano Pillars and El-Kanemi Warriors complete the present top three together with Akwa United. And all three have home advantage this Matchday.
Pillars welcome to Sani Abacha Stadium in Kano Delta Force who got defeated in the first leg 0-2. Victory for Pillars will make their last match away to Abia Warriors not so important as they would have qualified for the Super Six, which victory over Delta Force will ensure.
But with Asaba-based side needing all six points in their remaining fixtures and determined to pay Pillars back in their own coins, the battle is expected to be fierce in Kano.
El-Kanemi Warriors, in third spot, engage fourth placed FC Ifeanyi Ubah in a game that may determine which of these big teams will drop out of the top three. The Nnewi side managed a lone goal victory the first time they both met this season.
While Nasarawa United, Heartland and Abia Warriors have all not given up trying to make the top three, their realistic focus should be on not slipping down into the bottom four. For instance, three points separate sixth placed Nasarawa United from Plateau United, who lead the relegation squad, with two matches remaining.
The other teams in the drop zone are Go Round FC, Gombe United and Yobe Desert Stars, who already know their fate. While Plateau United are expected to take advantage of Yobe Desert Stars’ low spirit to win and wriggle out of trouble, Nasarawa United and Go Round FC as well as Gombe United and Heartland will be engaged in relegation dogfights.
MATCHDAY 21 FIXTURES…
GROUP A
- Rangers v Rivers United
- Kwara United v Remo Stars
- Enyimba v Niger Tornadoes
- MFM v Katsina United,
- Bendel Insurance v Sunshine Stars
- Lobi Stars v Wikki Tourists (all 4pm)
GROUP B:
- Plateau United v Yobe Desert Stars
- Nasarawa United v Go Round FC
- Kano Pillars v Delta Force
- El-Kanemi Warriors v FC IfeanyiUbah
- Gombe United v Heartland
- Akwa United v Abia Warriors (all 4pm)
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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