Match Report: Nwogbaga strike earns the Naze Millionaires their first season’s away point in Akure
AKURE (Heartland Media) – Heartland FC produced another masterclass performance to earn their first away point of the season in the 1-1 draw secured at the Ondo Sports Complex, Akure, against Sunshine Stars on Saturday evening in a Nigeria Premier Football League Matchday Three tie.
Home boy, Michael Olalusi, put the Owena Whales in the driver’s seat in the 42nd minute from the spot kick after a handball in the vital area by Andrew Abalogu, while the Owerri side fought back gamely to get the equalizer through Patrick Nwogbaga with 15 minutes left in the game.
The Naze Millionaires played the game on the back of a 1-0 loss to Plateau United in Jos, and it would not have boded well if they had failed to get a positive result in their second consecutive away game.
The Owerri side went into the game with the mindset of winning their first game of the season, but they would be happy to walk away with a point, judging by the circumstances in which the game ended.
Heartland head coach, Christian Obi, stuck with most of the players who started the last two games against Lobi Stars and Plateau United, and just like in the previous games, the club struggled at the beginning but later adapted and became irrepressible.
It was the home side that served an early warning and could have been a few goals up inside the opening 20 minutes if they had taken their chances in the first quarter of the first half. Their failure to take the initiative meant allowing the visitors to work their way back into the game from the second quarter of that half until the end of the encounter.
The opening goal of the game came against the run of play. Sunshine Stars were able to sustain a brief momentum spell, and in one of those moments, they had players shooting directly towards Heartland FC’s goal posts. One of those shots, taken by Nwani Ikechukwu, mistakenly hit the outstretched hand of Andrew Abalogu, leading to a penalty kick decision. Michael Olalusi stepped forward to hit the ball to the bottom right, beyond the reach of Heartland FC goalkeeper, Chisom Chiaha, in the 42nd minute.
The setback, which came at a time when the visitors were breathing down the neck of their hosts, devastated the Owerri side, but it urged them on to go in search of the equalizer. The substitution of Tunde Oyewole and Onyekachi Okafor for Ezekiel Bassey and Francis Erikan early in the second half helped to further stabilize things.
Fired up by the goal they conceded in the dying minutes of the first half, the Obi-led side was very forceful in the second half and dominated the game but were unable to convert the numerous chances they had through set pieces close to the 18-yard line of the home team. The moment of truth came with the equalizer in the 75th minute through Nwogbaga, whose half-volley caught goalkeeper Mustapha Lawal napping. The goal came from Nnaemeka Christian’s free kick, which Lawal misjudged, allowing Nwogbaga to drill the ball into an empty net.
The Naze Millionaires still wanted to end the game impressively with the winning goal but they were caught out of position on one of their counterattacks. In the 85th minute, the hosts were awarded a second penalty kick after Elvis Ori was adjudged to have tripped Owena Whales’ Aniete Uko in the 18-yard box.
Ibrahim Yusuf’s spot kick hit the goal post, with Chiaha getting a hand on the ball and the Heartland defense on hand to clear the ball out of danger.
Despite playing more than 10 minutes after the penalty miss, Heartland FC held on for the draw until the center referee signaled the end of hostilities at Akure’s Ondo Sports Complex.
Heartland FC will return to Owerri to prepare for their next weekend’s home game against wounded Katsina United, who were held to a goalless draw by Lobi Stars at home.
