Sports
IKORODU City FC on Wednesday defeated hard-fighting El-Kanemi Warriors 2-0 in the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) mid-week Match Day 14.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Ikorodu boys returned with fire in the second half of the game to score two goals in a match played before the cheering spectators at Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan.
Left-footed Shola Adelani who has been a pain in the neck of the Desert Warriors scored a delightful goal in the 62nd minute, with substitute Ayomide Cole grabbing the assist.
The assist provider soon turned into the scorer as Cole made it two in the 76th minute after a needle pass from Tosin Oyedokun.
Ikorodu have gone five matches unbeaten, starting from NPFL Match Day 10 when they beat the then league leaders, Rivers United FC, by 2-0 in Lagos.
They beat Katsina United FC away 2-1, returned home to beat Shooting Stars and played a barren draw away to Niger Tornadoes, Minna, in the Match Day 13 fixtures.
The captain of Ikorodu City FC, Waliu Ojetoye, described the good run of the team as simple team hard work.
“The unbeaten run is a product of our hard work, team spirit and our mentality
“We were poor at the start of the league and we were not getting the results, but with persistence, we were able to change our mentality and tactics and yielded good results.
“We are not thinking about continental tickets now but playing the game as they come. The win today has shown that we are getting it right, I cannot talk about the game we have not played.
“We are not scared of any team right now, we have been tagged as the baby of the league, but we are more than that, we are wounded lion; we are ready to fight on,” he said.
The Coach of Ikorodu, Nuruden Aweroro, however, downplayed anything spectacular in the dressing room which accounted for the brilliant run.
“There is nothing spectacular we are doing now. We focus on working hard and we have our philosophy which we polish during the training.
“We try to make sure that we do the right thing at the right time.
“The mirror of the match is the training. So, after we have perfected our tactics in the training, we believe it will be easy for us during the match.
“There is nothing like an impossibility. We can make it anywhere. We have a target and once we don’t relent, we will have good results. We start to plan for the next match after the last match,” he said.
Aweroro said that it was not easy beating the top-ranked team in the league adding that the team would continue to do its best to keep the fans happy.
NAN reports that the win against El-Kanemi has taken Ikorodu to the 5th position on the league with six wins, three draws, and five losses, and amassing 21 points, in the process.
They will next play Akwa United FC on Sunday at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan. (NAN)
A.I
Nov. 28, 2024
Tags: NPFL: Ikorodu City
