two
warriors
finishing the previous season in a respectable position against all odds, abia warriors went into the 2015/16 season full of optimism. reason? their young strike force of ‘the Lethal’ Chisom Chikatara and ‘the wizard’ ndifreke effiong tore defenses apart as the umuahia club made an incredible start to the new season. Their displays didn’t go unnoticed. Chikatara banged in 4 goals in the CHAN competition and got a mid-season move to moroccan side Wydad athletic club where he won the CAF champions league in 2017. ndifreke meanwhile, won Africa u-23 cup of Nations and the football bronze medal at the 2016 summer olympics for Nigeria, a feat many stars around the world still dream of. Naija Futbol celebrateS the two strikers who helped Abia Warriors to a dream start to the 2015/16 season.
cover illustartion: Ifedi Okafor; cover design: kola akintola illustration and words: Ikenna Okey-Chikwendu; pagination: Idowu Musbau Supervisor: Chima Kalu; Marketing: Pascal Mbey (0909308510)
finally, top flight football is back in lagos!
na wa o! it’s been decades! I can’t wait!
But importantly Nigeria professional football league (npfl) is back to it’s spiritual home, the onikan stadium!
new landlords ikorodu united hosted abia warriors in their first game of the season! ikorodu defenders had their eye on dangermanchisom chikatara...
and that left ndifreke effiong with a lot of space to explore!
Moshood Kabiru checks chisom chikatara
Ndifreke super Skill Bang! that’s what the NPFL is all about!
away draw is a good way to start the season! well done boys! however, agbane candy saved the ‘oga boys’ with a sweet equaliser in the 2nd half!
boom!
one-nil it ended...not a bad result for new warriors coach kennedy boboye!
kano! the sani abacha stadium was filled to the brim as kano pillars battled enugu rangers!
crafty godwin aguda is causing havoc in the middle!
sai masu gidu!
sai masu gidu! in the 50th minute, rangers struck through chiamaka madu’s header!
good cross from osas okoro...madu!! yesss!
pillars missed some glaring chances with Ifeanyi matthew the biggest culprit!
matthew balloons it! what a miss!
wetin ifeanyi drink? which kin miss be dis?
don’t worry fans...I'll score goals!
‘keeper yusuf parries away!
meanwhile, rangers continued to pile the pressure on pillars stretching their defence to the limit! daring moves that imressed supersport commentator ralph chidozie george!
believe me I've not seen rangers this good in years! this is wonderful display from the flying antelopes!
but can they hold on?
nope! Pillars hit back in the 78th minute through gambo mohammed!
and with almost the last kick of the game, new signing prince aggreh got all 3 points for sai masu gida!
aggreeehhhhh! that sure wins it for pillars! 2-1!
yeeeeeeaaaahhh! the former champions are looking like a team ready to wrestle back their title with dogged displays like this!
meanwhile in port harcourt, defending champions Enyimba were having tough battle against host rivers united!
ref! ten yards now! gentlemen move back please! frederick obomote made sure the people’s elephant began their campaign on a losing note with a sublime\freekick!
are you sure it went it? I don’t want trouble from the LMC
fc ifeanyi ubah and their armanda of foreign stars arrived jos in high spirits to take on giwa fc!
ivorien pascal seka got them in front early in the game, with a 35 yard lob!
it did ref!
it was a contentious goal that confused the referees!
later, history was made as substitute Alberico da silva became the first brazilian to play in the league!
fc ifeanyi ubah decleared their intentions with the one-nil win!
in akure, maurice cooreman watched as his akwa united side fell behind through an okiki afolabi strike for the home team sunshine stars!
okiki hammers it in from a tight angle!
I want crosses into the box! run! cross eh?
easy finish! thank you ezenwa! cross! saved! fumbled!
goal! ezenwa drops it like a hot potato... Friday ubong waits for it...
both shared the spoils!
3sc vs Lobi stars!
solomon kwambe
eduwor beats the ‘keeper... shoots... cleared off the line...
eche idakwo is on to the rebound in a flash... good pass to kingsley eduwo... ‘keeper rushes out...
he chips back to eduwo good finish! this is going to be my season! watch out fans!
heartland and warri wolves played out a goalless draw at the dan anyiam stadium owerri! a huge disappointment for the naze millionaires fans!
kingsley eduwo’s goal was enough to win it for lobi!
it was a battle of newly promoted sides as plateau united hosted niger tornadoes in jos! namo swings in the corner...
swoosh!
header! bang! charles okafor nicks it!
but united had the last laugh...
kunle isa equalised for tornadoes in the 2nd half!
thank you father!
daniel itodo takes a long throw...header.. it ricochets off the post...
after matchday one 2-1 victory away to nasarawaunited, lagos side MFM returned home to tackle visitors rivers united for day 2!
ibe johnson... yessss... united wins it!
mfm started on a bright note as they were awarded a penalty!
yahweh, your name is yahweh... you are a miracle working god,.your name Is yahweh!
ifeanyi ifeanyi puts the penalty beyond Sunday rotimi...one-nil!
petit dynamo chukwuka onuwa kept mfm’s midfield ticking with skillful displays! onuwa to musa newman... good pass to olatunbosun... rotimi is already off his line...
this looks good for mfm...
olatunbosun is the name! better recognise!!
sikiru olatunbosun made sure that super move ended at back of the net despite Sunday rotimi’s gallant effort to stop him!
get in there!
chineke eh! he scored it!
frederick obomote pulled back one for rivers united in the 2nd half!
yeeeessssss!! it’s 2 goals in 2 weeks for obomote!
it was a battle of warriors in umuahia as abia hosted el-kanemi!
chikatara breaks free...
chikatara doesn’t miss chances like this. one-nil to abia!
chisom Chikatara has become one of the most feared strikers in the nigerian league. shame he has already signed for moroccan club wydad athletic!
ibrahim mustapha to ohanachom... back to mustapha good finish! one-all!
soon...
but el-kanemi’s delight didn’t last as alex otakho was sent off! ref me? wetin I do!
abia took advantage with substitute michael olaha grabbing the winner!
this is another kid to look out for!
boom! pillars held on until the last minute of the game... achibi enwenike shoots yusuf spills it...
warri wolves were looking to score their first goal of the season against a resolute kano pillars!
jonathan zikiye stops king osanga! wolves in charge!
I don kill my team! kai!
kevin itoya! that is definitely the winner! wolves finally score a goal!
warri no dey carry last!
warri wolves 1 kano pillars 0
the league continues...
league legend
ILLUSTRATION: iFEDI OKAFOR
OWUMI
words: ikenna okey-chikwendu
DAVIDSON
before ahmed musa, jude aneke, emem edoukand mfon udoh, there was davidson owumi. yep! the former sharks and Rangers sharp shooter was the first recognised top scorer in the nigerian league! this was way back in 1985! Not just the goals, owumi had skills and speed which earned him the sobriquet ‘okada’. aside football, he also conquered education with a education with a university degree. this helped him to move seamlessly into management as he became the Chairman of Rangers, Warri wolves and the premier league board. Player-coach-administrator, davidson owumi is a true legend of the nigerian league!