kano pillars v lobi stars 2009/2010 season review

Kano Pillars and Lobi Stars traded tackles last season but it was the Kano tie that excited me with good football one calm Saturday evening. The match was very much anticipated in the ancient city. The huge collection of fans trickled into the stadium hours before the crunch tie to further place the home in running for honors in the premier league.Pictured above,Pillars slot in a goal.


Beefed up with some remunerations, the home side started the game with a sleek passing technique against the backdrop of one famous side from Makurdi struggling to keep pace with the league. Pillars took the game to their visitors in the early minutes to force the goalkeeper to come out and dominate his area. No damage was done by Lobi’s counter tactics, a few started by the goalkeeper himself. Resilience seemed to take Lobi forward until the the half hour mark when the defense line buckled under pressure by conceding a penalty through its center half. The visiting number one stunned the capacity crowd by pulling a brave save from the lanky ‘Pele’s spot kick, to keep Lobi in the game.

Not for long though, a central defender lost his reading of a ball across goal from the right wing, poking it into the top left corner of his own net. The goal came after much pressure and it signaled the end of the first half.

The second half started in the same lively fashion, only this time the visitors were clearly boosted by the pep time out. As determined as ever to climb higher in the game, Lobi tried to pin Pillars back with a few scares. The goalkeeper was called to duty and he answered quickly to protect the slim lead.

Up until over the half hour mark, the game balanced itself for several periods. Lobi made a change to their defense line by bringing in Umaru, the Flying Bees fc Zaria product. His introduction as a sweeper paid some dividends as he proved a handful to opposing strikers in the air especially. Up field he put in some long throws that created anxious moments to no avail. With less than ten minutes from time, the pressure from Pillars created another opening on the right in the box. With precision,the rampaging striker poked home the second goal for the home side from close range.
Two nil in favor of the home team who hold on tightly to second spot, leaving Lobi with food for thought on the journey to Makurdi.

The return leg ended in a draw and Kano Pillars went on to finish the season in second place .Now that the club is without record goal scorer Ahmed Musa, all eyes will be on the form of the team come late September when the new Nigeria Premier league season kicks off.

Today  in the course of the Ramadan fast,Kano Pillars fc had a training session in the morning.Now the  die is cast for teams to buckle up and  launch  a strong asault on the home front and on the continent.A good pep talk and work out under the tutelage of Coach D Black will do  for now,to keep the morale of the Kano Pillars squad on a high.

Oh La Liga!

As the spanish liga,the hub of the art and acts of football worldwide,got under way last weekend,the stage was set for another kind of history.Across the board, teams in Spain did not threaten to blow up the bidding hot spots.Real Madrid for instance,acquired some of the best youthful talents in European football in order to take the club to a higher level of glory.With Angel Di Maria(Benfica),Pedro leon,Sam Khedira(Stuttgart) and Mesut Oezil(Werder Bremen) all teeming up with the blanco cake,Florretino Perez found no other icing beyond Jose Mourinho.This is the aspiring project aiming to wrest control of la liga from their fiercest competitor in the world,Barcelona.

The Catalan giants have been able to take off their new season with a solid performance,bagging all three points.After Coach Pep saw backs exiting the Nou Camp in the cases of Yaya Toure,Rafael Marquez and Thierry Henry,Ibrahimovic joined Milan on a season long loan on  a Monday with fist option to buy at 24m euros. Barcelona are short of depth and they are eager to step up some young players.In a rift with the big strikers ego,Pep talked about a hard working man who lets his personality get in his way,straining relationships around him.Pep is keeping his cards close to his chest and monitoring the market for the right swoop to bet his money on.
 Sevilla on their part,managed to also keep their crust together with the spear head of Luis Fabiano and Frederic Kanoute,but the Super Cup defeat to Barcelona did nothing to raise them  above the chasing pack behind the league leaders.With the Malian evergreen with a handful of goals,Sevilla are sure to seriously work it in order to land a euro spot.
Diego Forlan confirmed his status as an mvp by choosing to remain with Madrid based club Athletico,alongside fellow compatriot Kun Aguerro who is largely sought after  this summer by a host of clubs.A euro spot will be the right tonic for a team aiming to recapture some glory this term,after lifting the prestigious UEFA cup.The imminent piece of silverware facing Forlan and the  gang is a Super Cup,and Inter Milan lies in wait between  them.

•  La Liga is upon us,the beautiful game is back.

Leisure,Sport Of Life

Leisure is the sport of life. It enhances physical and mental fitness.
Being the time that an individual has as free enough, with or without pressing responsibilities, to engage in an act or activities that bring pleasure, leisure has been with mankind.
Ancient men moved from one location to the other, in search of a place to call home. When men found new settings, they had to reorganize their languages and modes of life in order to fit in. This is when leisure came, when men and women in families and communities sought activities like songs, dances, stories, proverbs, poetry, hunting, football ecetera, to give them the inner fulfillment they craved for.
Recently a sports model on a shopping trip to Kano, went along to the famous BATA Market.She bought some cosmetics but before boarding a bus to get back, she realized the few goods had expired several months ago. Good for everyone, the trader pleaded with her and gave her better quality goods in compensation. Her joy knew no bounds, because one bad buy, or bad sale, is enough to take the pleasure out of her leisure, even her health.

So what makes  a good leisure?  The enjoyment in any leisure is the result of the merits it contains.Life  is worth living because we need to always choose activities that challenge and bring out our potentials.A leisure well spent,helps us to be in the position of living a good life.

Nigeria v Madagascar preview

Exciting,thrilling and winning is fantasy football in the context of Nigeria’s Super Eagles. Not to worry,the team will evolve to that level.A team that failed to shine at the World Cup has laid the foundation for a new cycle in our football history.With fifteen foreign and eleven home based players invited,Cerezo is the man to lead the Eagles against Madagascar, on the fourth of september.
The chance of a life time will come the way of more than half invited, to stake a strong claim heading into the next round of matches.Having gone past the Lagerback era of playing world cup matches with three defensive midfielders in a game, the team can now put the mundial in perspective and revert to a more disciplined approach.This is in cognizance with the strengths of the team in line with systems like 4-4-2,4-3-3 and 4-5-1 as the case may be.Against Madagascar early september come kickoff time,the Eagles should work for ball possession,control and attacking football from the wings across the mouth of goal.Playing with wide disciplined wingers in Finidi’s mould, would allow us to exploit weaknesses of opponents down the flanks and through the center.Where is Stanley Okoro? the Nigerian youth international could fulfill a role on the wings of a team lacking the balance and poise of champions.

The game is almost upon us and the interim coach of the Super Eagles Austin Eguavoen ,will be working towards a victory.He will be hoping that the impressive club forms of players like Osaze,Enyeama,and Suswan on the home front will continue in the all important Nations Cup qualifier.
I expect the Eagles to take the victory with a 3-1 margin.That’s a tough call in football these days.

Racism in football

Racism, the false awareness of racial superiority, reared its ugly head on match day two of the English Premier league. A group of Russian fans watching the game between Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion,unveiled a banner sacarsticaly indicating that Nigerian hit man Osaze is a monkey.
   When Chelsea routed West Brom with a six nil thumping,Osaze was yet to make his dream move to the Premiership.However,after  much deliberations with the Nigerian contingent,the former Bendel Insurance forward found his way into game two with high hopes of boosting the morale of a team dampened by an opening day defeat.Fears were that due to jet lag,flying from Russia to South Korea,and then to England,the explosive hit man would not make a strong take off.He did in grand style.
On the eighty first minute of play, Osaze latched unto a through ball to poke it home and send West Brom to a famous first victory of the season.
  A cross section of Russian fans unveiled a banner ,with the graffiti of a banana,thanking West Brom for taking Osaze away.Back in Russia he spent three years without ever having any ill feeling directed towards him and his race The striker found motivation in the racist taunts to fight on in the game and professionally earn his side all three points at stake.
It remains to be seen what actions the relevant clubs will take to silence such prejudices.This is not the last of this ugly monster,which we as people of the world can only defeat if we stay united as friends through football.Osaze is a brave heart,ride on soldier.