Two goals in the first half was all Nigeria National League side Kogi United Fc of Lokoja needed to subdue rivals Federal Medical Centre football club to retained the Kogi State FA Cup (State Aiteo Cup) in a pulsating final on Wednesday afternoon at the Confluence Stadium Lokoja.
Kogi United FC dominate proceedings from the blast of the whistle and it didn’t take long before their efforts paid off after bulky striker Omolabi Owolabi took delivery of a ground pass and took a run deep into the opponent’s box and didn’t waste time in releasing a volley that beat David Achimi in goal for FMC Fc.
All efforts by the Life savers (as FMC Fc is known) proved arbotive with Kogi United Frontline pounding their defence.Nuhu Daniel combined well with Omolabi to put pressure on the FMC defence as he almost double United’s lead a minute later.
On several occasions,in-form Kogi United goalkeeper Shola Sheshere was tested but he remain unperturbed as he remain firm making sure the flurry of trials from the FMC Frontline was curtailed
Salisu Tanko doubled Kogi United lead in the 32 minute after he was rudely hacked down at the edge of the opponents box.He took the freekick curling the ball into the far corner of the net to hand his side their second goal.
Abdulwahab Jibril, Omolaoye Abiodun and Nuhu Daniel kept pestering the opponents defence for more goal but all their pressure refused to yield another goal before the break.
On resumption of the second half,Abdulwahab Jibril was gifted an opportunity to increase the tally in a combo effort with Omolaoye Abiodun but lack of effective communication denied them the opportunity to add to their side’s tally.
The FMC Fc technical bench quickly made some changes which proved worthy as they up their game and almost came close to reducing the deficit but Shola Sheshere’s heroics ensure their pressure amounts to nothing.
Coach Folabi Ojekunle made some changes bringing in Usman Kasim in and his addition almost gave Kogi United another goal but most of his efforts upfront were not good enough as he had to battle for stability on several occasions.
Shola Sheshere who was on top of his game all day was again called into action after a ball was curled from outside the box going towards goal,he quickly saw it and lifted high to parry to safety to the administration of fans and spectators.
The game remain at 2-0 until the referee signal the end of the game thereby handing Kogi United FC their first trophy of 2022.
*POST MATCH REACTION*
Coach Folabi Ojekunle who rues most scoring chances said he didn’t expect his opponents to give his side a very tough contest and pressure the way they did.
” I was actually expecting a simple game but they made it harder for us but it’s a good one, ofcourse something one should always expect and brace up for in every contest”
On his teams position on the table in group A2 of the Nigeria National League and his readiness for the forthcoming National Aiteo Cup,Coach Folabi Ojekunle had this to say,
“Everyone should watch out for Kogi United when the National edition of the Aiteo Cup kicks off because we are going to shock many of the so call big Nigeria Professional Football League sides and for the remaining matches of the NNL,we will strive hard to finish strongly”
Captain of Kogi United FC Abubakar Danlami who was all smiles when confronted appreciate God almighty first for the victory,the Technical Adviser Coach Folabi Ojekunle whom he described as tactician with a taste and different touch who has brought discipline and another different brand of football to the team which has saw them picked some few valuable points away from home and lastly his team mates whom he described as dogged and hardworking.
WHAT NEXT ?
Kogi United FC will make a long trip to the North Western State of Jigawa to trade tackles with Jigawa Golden Stars at the Kazaure Stadium in a Match day 17 fixture of the Nigeria National League
KOGI UNITED X1
18 Shola Sheshere | 22 Abdulsalam Abdulhameed | 23 Moses Kayode | 25 Tope Oyedeji | 29 Abubakar Danlami | 10 Abdulwahab Jibril | 24 Haruna Isah | 32 Omolaoye Abiodun | 26 Nuhu Daniel | 31 Salisu Tankoâš½(32) | 8 Owolabi Omolabi.âš½(14)
UNUSED SUB
16 Mudasir Nurudeen | 5 Atoe Emmanuel | Memeyan Juwon | 21 Agbo Friday Godwin
GODWIN WAMBEBE
MEDIA OFFICER
KOGI UNITED FC
08069753740
09015507358