Sports
Super Six: Delta Queens Beat Rivers Angels
Delta Queens of Asaba at
the weekend in Abuja, clinched the Women Football League Super Six trophy for the third time running, winning the trophy for keeps.
They won the 2011 edition after a 1-0 victory over defending champions, Rivers Angels of Port Harcourt in the final match of the five-day competition held at the Abuja National Stadium.
In the competition’s final match, the Delta Queens dislodged Rivers Angels with a clinical display that kept their opponents on the back foot most of the time.
Ahead of the match, league defending champions Rivers Angels had led the competition since Match day One and only needed a draw to win the title.
But Delta Queens who won the 2008 and 2009 Super Six titles were more adventurous through Vera Okolo, Sike Promise and Desire Oparanozie who kept their opponents’ defence line busy.
They thus dominated the game and even missed a lot of scoring chances through Promise and Oparanozie, while the Rivers Angels missed a couple of theirs through Ebere Orji and Stella Mbachu.
However, Delta Queens took full charge in the 69th minute when Promise’s right flank corner-kick was headed into goal by Oparanozie at the far end for the game’s lone goal.
Rivers Angels’ fight back was immediate but ineffective, despite efforts by substitute Mercy Ameneze, Blessing Edoho, Stella Mbachu, Orji Rebecca Kalu and Oyinyechi Ohaduga.
Match captain Joy Jegede was, however, a rock in the Delta Queens defence line, as she kept the opponents in check throughout the second half when they fought back.
Delta Queens thus finished with 13 points from five matches, after four wins and one draw, and after scoring 10 goals and conceding two.
Rivers Angels dropped to second with 12 points from four wins and a loss, after scoring 10 goals and conceding two goals also.
Earlier in the day, Pelican Stars of Calabar had drawn 1-1 with Bayelsa Queens of Yenagoa to upstage Kogi Confluence of Lokoja and finished third in the competition.
Enoch Umoh had given the Yenagoa side a third minute lead only for Ugo Njoku to draw Pelican Stars level midway into the second half for them to finish on seven points.
Kogi Confluence placed fourth with six points, while Bayelsa Queens finished fifth with three points and Sunshine Queens had placed last with one point.
The competition which was held at the astro-turf pitch of the Abuja National Stadium’s FIFA Goal Project did not hold in 2010.
The competition had the top three teams in the two groups of the 2010/2011 Women Professional League taking part.
They are Rivers Angels who topped Group B of the league’s 2010/2011 competition ahead of second-placed Delta Queens and Bayelsa Queens.
The rest are Sunshine Queens who topped Group A, ahead of Pelican Stars and Kogi Confluence.
Sports
Iwobi Optimistic On S’Eagles Qualification
Iwobi spoke to Tidesports source ahead of Nigeria’s crunch playoff semi-final against Gabon on Thursday, November 13, in Rabat, Morocco.
The 28-year-old was reacting to Nigeria’s shaky World Cup qualifying campaign that saw the Eagles finish second in Group C behind South Africa’s Bafana Bafana.
“We’ve managed to rescue ourselves from the dead,” Iwobi told Tidesports source.
We know we have the players and the abilities to compete against any other country in the world.”
The Fulham star pointed to Nigeria’s star power, highlighting African Footballer of the Year winners Ademola Lookman and Victor Osimhen as proof of the squad’s quality.
“We have last year’s African best player (Ademola Lookman), the year before that (Victor Osimhen),” he said.
“It’ll be a shame if we don’t make it, but we have a lot of confidence. We just have to prove it to ourselves.”
Nigeria’s path to the United States, Canada and Mexico has been turbulent, with two coaches departing during the early stages of qualifying before Éric Chelle steadied the ship to steer the Super Eagles into November’s CAF playoffs.
Four nations from the continent – Nigeria, Cameroon, DR Congo and Gabon – will vie for a solitary spot to compete in next March’s inter-confederation playoffs, with a view to joining the already nine qualified African nations at the Finals.
It would mark Iwobi’s second appearance at the World Cup Finals and the Super Eagles’ first since the 2018 edition of the competition.
Back then, Iwobi featured in all three games as Nigeria was knocked out in the group stage.
Sports
ATLANTICBELL CEO ADVICE SPORTS WRITERS ON SPECIALIZATION
The Chief Executive Officer(CEO) and Publisher of the Atlantic Bell Online medium, Mr. Celestine Ogolo has advised sports writers in Nigeria to diversify in sports writing and not to concentrate on football reporting alone.
Sports
DEPUTY PRESIDENT EXPRESSES COMMITMENT TO SUPPORT SPORTS DEV, SWAN
The Deputy National President of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) Mr. Bonny Nyong has expressed commitment to support sports development and move SWAN forward.
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