The two wildcard teams at the Naija Super 8 tournament, Sporting Lagos and Akwa United, will face each other in the second semifinal match of the tournament, at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Lagos on Friday at 4:30pm.
Sporting Lagos booked their semi-final slot on Thursday after beating Katsina United, 1-0 in the last group A match. The Paul Offor boys qualified as group winners with seven points. Remo Stars and Katsina United were tied on four points and goal difference, but Remo Stars qualified as runner-up, having scored more goals than Katsina United.
In the only match of the day, both goalkeepers were called to action early in the match. Kolumbo Alladoum tipped over a powerful shot in the third minute. Sporting Lagos’ Agbo Ekoi, was also forced to a near post save in the sixth minute.
Saturday Okon missed a good opportunity to put Sporting Lagos ahead in the 21st minute, putting his header wide of the mark from close range. Sporting Lagos eventually took the lead in the 37th minute through Silas Nenrot who had enough room to pick his spot after beating the offside trap. Sporting Lagos had two more chances to extend their lead late in the first half, but failed to utilise them.
In the 74th minute, Clement Naantuam hit the crossbar from the edge of the area, as Sporting Lagos continued to press for the second goal. Somson Olasupo nearly drew Katsina United level in the 89th minute when his header narrowly missed the target. The North-West side had another big chance in the 93rd minute, but Nazifi Yahaya failed to direct his header on target, with the goalpost at his mercy.
In his post match press conference, Sporting Lagos coach, Paul Offor, said the fans should expect an exciting match against Akwa United. “We are just enjoying ourselves. The objective for the season has been achieved, which is to qualify for theProfessional Football League. This tournament is just a test for us of how the Nigeria NPFL is. The fans should expect good football against Akwa United. I’m lucky to have played against a coach like Finidi George and tomorrow, we will be playing against another top coach, Fatai Osho. No pressure on us, we are just enjoying ourselves. We are not thinking of the trophy right now. If we win the next match, then we can begin to think about that,” he said.
In the first semi-final, Group B winners, Lobi Stars, will square up against Remo Stars at 2pm. The Naija Super 8 final will be held on Sunday, with the kick-off set for 5pm. In addition to N3 million earned for each Group match, the winner of the tournament will receive N25 million, while the runner-up will get N9 million.
Naija Super 8 is organised by Flykite Productions in partnership with MultiChoice Nigeria and sponsors, MTN, Hero Lager, DStv, GOtv, SuperSport, Moniepoint, Pepsi and Custodian Assurance.
