Ikechukwu Julius's lone strike was good enough to secure a hard earned win for Gateway United football club against local rivals,Remo Stars on Wednesday in a second tier Nigeria National League derby in the Group B2 of Southern Conference
.
The tense Ogun State derby at the MKO Abiola Intl Stadium, Kuto Abeokuta, saw Ikechukwu Julius wriggling past three defenders to slot home the lone goal in a clinical fashion before half time of the encounter
The Ogun State Government owned Gateway United had earlier missed scoring opportunity in the 7th minute when, Abawula Anthony tried his luck from range but it sailed wide.
Also failed to convert a freekick in a delicate area after Salifu Haruna was hacked down in the 10th minute.
Another chance off a corner kick went begging for Haruna Salifu as the homers continued to build intensity for a goal.
Michael Okolo would be the next to create an opening from a freekick in the 27th but his effort was scrambly saved.
It was a match that witnessed a lot of drama, as Remo Stars coach, Daniel Ogunmodede went into the referee's book for mishandling of the assistant referee in the 78th minute.
Chief Coach of Gateway United, Hakeem Busari reactiing to the outcome of the derby, lauded the efforts of the boys for grinding a win in a hard-fought game.
His words,"It was our third competitive game in four days. We knew it was going to be tough. A high intensity game which had all the characteristics of an intense derby. We couldn't afford to slip and our resolve is to end the season on a high. Five games to go, and we shall put more smiles on the faces of our fans"
"It's back to back home game for us with One Rocket FC coming up next Saturday, we shall continue with this intensity cos it's one step at a time" he concluded.
In another NNL match in the Southern Conference Group B1, FC Nilayo of Abeokuta defeated hard fighting Rovers of Calabar by 2-1 to consolidate on its fast improving position on the table
No comments:
Post a Comment