Sports
Boboye Picks Lessons From Draw
Akwa United was held to a goalless draw by the hosts Sunshine Stars in NPFL Match-day 19 at the Agege Stadium in Lagos. The enthralling encounter saw the two teams missed clear chances with Mfon Udoh as one of the culprits.
With the draw, Akwa United has now garnered 33 points from 18 games, which is enough to take them to the top of the table for the first time this season.
Coach Kennedy Boboye, in a post-match interview, said although his team should have done better to grab all three points, he’s happy with their efforts.
”We came here with one intention, which was to win. My boys played well and created wonderful scoring chances but failed to bury them. I think if we had put in a little more effort, we would have won the match.
”It was a tough game considering the opposition we faced. Sunshine Stars are a good side and they gave us a real test today. It was an open game that could have gone either way.
”Victory would have taken us to 35 points and we would have opened a two point gap at the top, but it wasn’t to be. I wish to congratulate my players for their efforts. We have taken a whole lot of positives from this game and it will help us to plan for the return leg. Now, we will get back home and keep working hard so we can achieve our target’.
Coach Kennedy Bo-boye’s team extended their unbeaten run to eight matches with five victories and three draws.
The goalless draw means Sunshine Stars have now picked just six points from the last 12 consecutive NPFL matches (six draws and six defeats).
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.
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.
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.