Match Report: Tech Boys steal valuable point in Uyo as wasteful United remain winless
UYO (Made In Africa Sport) – Sporting Lagos held Akwa United to a goalless draw at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo during matchday two of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) encounter on Sunday, 8 October 2023.
The Noisy Lagosians who were away to the promising Akwa side proved stubborn to share points at the Nest of Champions Stadium.
The highly anticipated match saw Akwa United take early chances, but their attackers found it difficult to capitalise on their eight attempted created in the first half.
The first half got to its climax in the 35th minute, after Seyi’s long range strike failed to hit the target.
The second half resumed with Emeka Nwokeji picking an early injury that forced him out of the match, however, Fatai Osho side were not relenting as they doubled their attacks, and strengthened their defense, however, their efforts couldn’t materialize any goal till the full time.
After the full 90 minutes played at the Nest of Champions stadium, Sporting Lagos fought to the end, and earned a point on the road, ensuring they remain undefeated in two consecutive NPFL matches.
The Tech Boys from Lagos have scored a total of 2 goals in two NPFL matches, and have maintained a perfect clean sheet record, conceding no goal in their two consecutive matches.
The Promise Keepers of Akwa have now gone two matches without a win after their 5-3 battering in Bayelsa in the season opener.
Statistics
FULL TIME
Akwa United 0-0 Sporting Lagos
In a match where the goals decided to go on vacation, the Noisy Lagosians stealthily tiptoed away with a precious point!
It's also the first goalless draw of the season. #NPFLWithMIAS #NPFL24 pic.twitter.com/lvhXttmfQl
— Made In Africa Sport (@madeinafricaweb) October 8, 2023
Reactions
Speaking during the post match conference, the assistant coach of Sporting Lagos, Edward Edemekong declared his happiness for his team, and noted they didn’t look down on Akwa United.
“We are happy with the results,” Edemekong said. “We came here to cause Akwa some problems. It’s a good one going forward and we will build on that.”
“Owing to the fact that they went away and lost 5-3, we recognize that a team that could score 3 away has a good attack, so we tried to see if we could play behind but it wasn’t so easy.”
The assistant coach, who stepped in for Coach Paul Ofor, reacted to questions on whether the players missed the presence of their first team coach on the touchline, he emphasized that the players didn’t miss him as “he is in constant communication with the team and the players.”
Also, the head coach of Akwa United, Fatai Osho showed his disappointment towards the winless run of Akwa United and their inability to secure a win at home against Sporting.
“Quite a disappointing one,” he said. “We tried to block all the passes. The quality in our attack let us down, we have to work on them, those are the ones we have at hand at the moment, glorious four chances and we can’t convert from any of those chances, it’s unbelievable.”
“Nobody will be happy with that, we created chances but the strikers lacks moment of awareness to do the right thing.
“You can’t have one-on-one with goalkeepers and be thinking of what to do, the quality we have in that attack is abysmal.” He concluded.
What’s next
Sporting Lagos sits top of the NPFL league table after two matches, they will play host to Savannah Tigers of Doma in Onikan on Wednesday, 11 September 2023 as Akwa United travel to Abia to face defending champions, Enyimba.
Matchday two results
2023/2024 NPFL MATCHDAY TWO:
◉ 10 games
◉ 18 goals
◉ 0 away win
◉ 9 clean sheets#NPFLWithMIAS #NPFL24 pic.twitter.com/dEUa6ZqYJp— Made In Africa Sport (@madeinafricaweb) October 8, 2023
