Nigerian Football
NIGERIAN LEAGUE BLOGGERS NOMINATE EIGHT FOR JANUARY AWARDS
The
independent League Bloggers Awards (LBA) has named eight nominees
for the January 2020 Player of the Month and
Coach of the Month Awards
in the Nigeria Professional Football League.
Sponsored by Logistics brand, OverXpress, the
LBA was instituted in
2009 to celebrate outstanding players and
coaches in the domestic league.
Abdullahi Biffo of Kwara United, Gbenga Ogunbote
of Lobi Stars,
Stanley Eguma of Rivers United and Sulaimon
Kabir Dogo of Sunshine
Stars make the shortlist for the Coach of the Month
Award.
The Player of the Month category has Kwara
United duo of goalkeeper
Abdullateef Ishola and Alao Danbani as well as
Dakkadá’s Moses Effiong
and Kano Pillars’ Auwalu Ali.
It was a month in which the quartet of Ogunbote,
Eguma, Dogo and Biffo
lost one each but claimed 13, 11 and 10 points,
respectively.
Interestingly, three coaches: Biffo, Ogunbote
and Dogo won on the road
at Akwa United, Adamawa and Wikki Tourists,
respectively.
Eguma was without a win on the road.
Dogo was unbeaten in his last five matches in
the month under review,
while Biffo earned a four-match unbeaten run
before losing his last
match at Adamawa.
In
addition, his side recorded clean sheets in four
consecutive matches, which included the 2-0 road
trip win at Akwa
United.
Ishola enters the record books as the first
goalkeeper to be nominated
this term after earning clean sheets in three
matches against Abia
Warriors, Katsina United and Sunshine Stars.
Danbani earned nomination like his goalkeeper,
after scoring thrice at
Akwa United and Adamawa United, while Auwalu
scored twice at Sunshine
and one at home against Warri Wolves to boost
his chances.
Effiong’s hattrick against Adamawa United earned him a place in the prestigious list. The LBA will announce January winners on Wednesday, next week.
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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