Akwa Utd Suffer second League Defeat of the season
A first half strike by Sikiru Olatunbosun handed MFM of Lagos a 1-0 win over determined Akwa United in a rescheduled Matchday 8 fixture of the Nigeria Professional Football League at the Agege stadium on Friday.
The game produced many goal scoring chances for both teams but it was Olatunbosun who made good use of his opportunity to give his team their 4th win of the season and moved them to 8th on the log.
Coach Abdu Maikaba made five changes to the team that lost to Hawks FC in Uyo. After a slow start to the game by both teams, the match spark into life in the 19th minute when Victor Mbaoma picked out Aniekeme Asuquo in MFM’s box but the midfielder crashed his shot against the post after beating the goalkeeper.
The Promise Keepers continued their dominance but were hit on the counter attack in the 34th minute. Sikiru Olatunbosun raced onto Adebayo Waheed through ball and blast it beyond Emmanuel Iwu to put his team in front.
Moments later, Captain Otobong Effiong was put through in a one-on-one situation with MFM’s goalkeeper Folarin Abayomi but the Captain decided to pass instead to shoot at goal as the Olukoya Boys went into the break with a 1-0 lead.
On resumption, Akwa United had two clear cut chances; Otobong Effiong delivered two sumptuous crosses in the space of four minutes and Aniekeme and Ibe were unable to direct the ball into the back of the net.
In the 60th minute, the Promise Keepers thought they had level the scores when Olisema tap in Aniekeme Asuquo’s cross into the net but his effort was ruled out for offside.
In a tactical change, Coach Maikaba introduced Katoh Haggai, Ubong Friday and Gabriel Okechukwu into the game but their effort was not enough to change the scoreline as they suffered their second defeat in the league this season.
Akwa United still remain top of the log with 16 points from 8 games and will next travel to the Gambia for the return leg of their CAF Confederation Cup match against Hawks FC on Wednesday.
