Here, Made In Africa Sport run through a stats-driven team of the tournament, which includes players from Real Inter, Toyin Amuzu, Joju Fadairo Babes, and Favour FC.

Goalkeeper – Bolu Odebiyi (Real Inter)

Real Inter shot-stopper Bolu Odebiyi, winner of the Goalkeeper of the Tournament award, takes his place in our best XI after exceptional displays in the knockout stages.

Statistics of the Best 5 Goalkeepers at the #2024EYFC so far, as compiled from the data collated by our Data Analytic Partner, @MIASonline pic.twitter.com/GOSefDGOk9

— Egba Youth Football Championship (@EYFCCup) May 31, 2024

He helped his side to clean sheets in four of their seven matches throughout the competition, while his penalty shootout heroics in the quarter-final and semi-final against Encore Football Academy and Favour, respectively, will live long in the memory of citizens of Egba land.

Odebiyi’s remarkable efforts over the last month see him end the tournament saving 17 out of 22 shots faced for a 77% save accuracy.

RB – Uche Joseph (Favour)

The first of four Favour representatives in our best XI is defender Uche Joseph, who played in each of his club’s seven matches throughout the tournament on their way to glory.

Joseph’s strongest performance came in the last group stage game against Sacred Hearts Hospital, where he won the man of the match after scoring a crucial goal to seal their place as group leaders. He ended the tournament with six shots, eight crosses attempted, eleven fouls committed, and seven fouls drawn, and was one of only six players to play every single minute of the tournament.

CB – Afeez Idowu (Favour)

Remaining with the champions, centre-back Afeez Idowu earns a spot in our team of the tournament, having also started all seven of his club’s matches.

GAME 49 (Final)

Joju Fadairo Babes 1-1 Favour

Afeez Idowu

MAN OF THE MATCH #2024EYFC #EYFC #EYFCWithMIAS pic.twitter.com/PtayCMGGaz

— Made In Africa Sport (@madeinafricaweb) June 3, 2024

Across the competition, he had three goal contributions with two assists and one goal from seven shots, attempted seven crosses, committed nine fouls, was fouled ten times, and no player won more man of the match awards (two) in the knockout stage than him, one of which included the final.

CB – Olasunkanmi Makinde (Joju Fadairo Babes)

Partnering Idowu in the centre of defence is Joju Fadairo Babes‘ Olasunkanmi Makinde, who earns a spot in the best XI, having been the heart of a defence that conceded just two goals throughout the tournament.

Makinde’s strong defensive displays helped his side reach the final and his best-rated performance came in the final, where he won three aerial duels, made four tackles, two interceptions, five clearances, and two blocks, only to end on the losing side, despite scoring his penalty during the shoot-out.

LB – Hammed Shodipo (Real Inter)

Left-back Hammed Shodipo completes our back four, having impressed with his performances for Real Inter FC, who reached the semi-finals, only to lose out to eventual champions Favour FC.

Shodipo made five appearances for his club across the tournament and assisted one of his team’s goals in the group stage victory over Young Boys, while he won man of the match against Encore in the quarter-final and scored in the penalty shootout to progress Inter to the last four.

DM – Abdulbaki Adeyemi (Favour)

Midfielder Abdulbaki Adeyemi was the standout player in Favour’s triumph and a strong contender for player of the tournament. He won man of the match awards in the quarter-final and semi-final and came clutch with a goal contribution in three of Favour’s last five games in the competition against Sacred Heart Hospital twice and Real Inter.

DM – Ridwan Akindipe (Joju Fadairo Babes)

Joju Fadairo Babes midfielder Ridwan Akindipe emerged as the tournament’s best player for his performances throughout the championship, notably those against Golden Stars and Favour in the final.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT

Ridwan Akindipe (Joju Fadairo Babes)

Appearances: 6
Minutes Played: 420
Goals: 3
Goal Attempts: 9
Shots on Target: 6
Goal Conversion Rate: 50.00%
Shot Accuracy: 66.67%
Fouls Drawn: 12
Penalty Goals: 0

1/2 pic.twitter.com/pcyIoCtIsl

— Made In Africa Sport (@madeinafricaweb) June 2, 2024

Akindipe suffered seven fouls in the final, the most fouls received by a player in a single match. He also scored in the group stage game against Gbench Achievers and ended the tournament as the highest-scoring midfielder despite playing deeper, while he took a total of eleven shots, made seven tackles, committed ten fouls (which brought two yellow cards), and made eight interceptions at the heart of the Asiwaju Egba Boys midfield.

AM – Lawal Adeesan (Favour)

Favour midfielder Lawal Adeesan earns a spot in our best XI, having provided three goals and assists in the first two games in wins over FMCA United and Alagbede. He was fouled fifteen times in the tournament, at least twice more than any other player.

His goal drought in the latter stages of the tournament can be attributed to him taking up a more defensive role as the fulcrum of Favour’s team, which saw him contributing with eight tackles and seven clearances, in addition to his twelve shots and five attempted crosses.

RWF – Mykle Siana (Joju Fadairo Babes)

Starting all games in the competition from the group stage to the final, Mykle Siana‘s impact at this year’s Egba Youth Football Championship was crucial. He put on one of the best individual performances of the competition in the semi-final match, where they drubbed Toyin Amuzu 5-0.

Before the goal and assist in that game that earned him the man of the match award, he provided an assist in the semi-final match against Gbench Achievers. Along with his decisive contributions in front of goal, Siana also made twelve crosses, the highest of any player that reached the last four. His two assists put him fourth on the list of best creators in the tournament.

ST – Abass Akorede (Joju Fadairo Babes)

Leading the line in our team of the tournament is Joju Fadairo Babes attacker Abass Akorede, who netted seven goals in six matches for his club as they reached the final in their debut year. Akorede was one of only two players to score a hat-trick in the tournament after his heroics in the quarter-final against Gbench Achievers. He added two more goals in the semi-final against Toyin Amuzu to increase his tally to seven goals and equal the joint-highest goal ever scored in a single EYFC event.

|PLAYER FOCUS

Abass Akorode (Joju Fadairo Babes) vs AR United

70' min played
5shots/1 on target
2 crosses
3 tackles won
2 foul commited
2 fouls drawn

MAN OF THE MATCH!

The only thing missing was a goal .#2024EYFC #EYFC #EYFCWithMIAS pic.twitter.com/3Hpn5QDjEd

— Made In Africa Sport (@madeinafricaweb) April 26, 2024

He was chalked off after 43 minutes in the final due to an existing injury he suffered a few days before and lost the golden boot trophy, but his 24 shots (4.0 per game), 19 on target (79.17% accuracy), rank highest in the tournament.

LWF – Toyosi Popoola (Toyin Amuzu)

Completing our best XI is Toyin Amuzu’s lone player, Toyosi Popoola, who scored eight goals to finish as the highest goal scorer of the 2024 Egba Youth Football Championship.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐑 on the world stage
#2024EYFC pic.twitter.com/5j7O58w9Ok

— Egba Youth Football Championship (@EYFCCup) June 6, 2024

Popoola’s goals were spread out across the event, scoring a goal each in the quarter-final and group stage heavyweight clash against Oluwole FC, and a brace each against United FC, Ajegunle All Stars, and Real Inter in the group stage, round of 16, and third-place match, respectively. This equalled Samson Oke as the second player to score in five games in a single edition, while his eight goals also overtook Oke and Akorede’s tally of seven as the most goals scored in a single edition.

Coach – Muhammed Adeboye (Joju Fadairo Babes)

Muhammed Adeboye is the 2024 EYFC Coach of the Tournament after leading the newly formed Joju Fadairo Babes to a second-place finish.

Adeboye was not just a master of man-management during the championship; his tactical flexibility, despite his preferred 4-3-3 formation, made him stand out. He constantly adjusted his team’s approach based on the opponent and the situation. This adaptability was evident in how he maintained a solid defence, making Joju Fadairo Babes the only team not to concede a goal in the group stage. His team also scored five unanswered goals against Toyin Amuzu FC, a team that had scored twelve goals in five matches and was on the longest unbeaten run in the championship’s history.

After a 4-3 penalty shootout loss in the final, which technically counts as a draw, Adeboye’s team ended the tournament with a record of four wins and two draws in six games. This means only Surveyors FC (nine games) and Ajax Sporting Club (seven games) have played longer without ever tasting a loss in the championship’s history.

The post Favour’s defensive strength key to victory as record-breaking Toyosi Popoola leads EYFC 2024 best XI appeared first on Made In Africa Sport.

(Made In Africa Sport) – Abass Akorede was on target again as Joju Fadairo Babes defeated Toyin Amuzu 5-0 to reach the final of the 2024 Egba Youth Football Championship on Saturday, 25 May 2024, at the Muda Lawal Stadium, Abeokuta.

The Asiwaju Egba Boys continued their fine run in the tournament after victories against Golden Stars and Gbench Achievers in the round of 16 and quarter-final, respectively.

Despite being the only team in the semi-finals to have won all knockout games in regulation time, victory seemed uncertain as they locked horns with Toyin Amuzu, historically one of the strongest teams in the tournament’s history.

In their nine previous games in the tournament, the Leragun Army were yet to taste defeat in regulation time, winning five and drawing four – exiting the 2022 edition through a 6-5 penalty shoot-out loss to Ultimate – making it the joint longest unbeaten run ever in the EYFC.

Such a feat was not meant to tremble the Muhammed Adeboye-led team as they started on a strong foot and took the lead in the eleventh minute after a quick counter-attacking transition led to Mykle Siana setting up Abass Akorede to tap in from close range.

Seven minutes later, Afeez Junaid diverted Anuoluwapo Bamidele‘s corner kick into his net after a mix-up with his goalkeeper, Adeleke Adewale, who attempted to claim the ball in the air.

With some hopes of a comeback after resuming the second half, Toyin Amuzu continued to push for a goal. Still, as if his first-half own goal was not enough, Afeez Junaid‘s day turned from bad to worse when he attempted to stop an attacking phase from Joju, but his studs caught Abass Akorede’s leg and was given a marching order for the cynical foul.

Two goals down, a man down against a defence that had conceded only one goal throughout the tournament, could only mean one thing: ELIMINATION!

But Fadairo Babes were not going to end it there. They opened the floodgates of goals, with Emmanuel Junior capitalising on Adewale’s goalkeeping blunder to make it 3-0 in the 50th minute.

In quick succession, Adewale was booked after his failed attempt to stop a 1v1 resulted in a foul. Abass Akorede stepped up and calmly sent him the wrong way to score his seventh goal of the tournament, overtaking Toyin Amuzu’s Toyosi Popoola as the top scorer.

Mykle Siana, who had been terrorising the entire Amuzu’s defence on both flanks, capped his fine performance with a goal from a close-range shot.

WHAT IT MEANS

The result propels the debuting Joju Fadairo Babes to the final where they will face Favour FC at 2 pm on Sunday, 2 June 2024, at the Muda Lawal Stadium, while Toyin Amuzu have a chance of redeeming their dented image in the loser’s final against Real Inter, 3 hours before the final at the same venue.

MAN OF THE MATCH

Mykle Siana was Made In Africa Sport’s player of the game. He coordinated his team’s attack effectively throughout the match, scoring one, assisting one with three shots on target and crosses each and was fouled twice.

REACTION

Joju Fadairo Babes head coach, Muhammed Adeboye, was full of respect for his opponent despite thrashing them and revealed that their determination not to concede unless they scored has been their driving force in the tournament.

“Toyin Amuzu is one of the teams I always respect,” Adeboye said. “They have quality players and I always try to defeat a team that everybody respects to show them that anything can happen in football.”

“They have more players than us, but I believe my own players can do anything in competitions like this and that’s what we saw today.

“I always tell my players that if I don’t score, a team should not score against me, that’s why we have conceded only one goal in this competition so far,” he said.

Adeboye also waded into the top scorer conversation between Abass Akorede and Toyosi Popoola, pitching his tent with his lanky striker who has scored five goals in his last two outings at EYFC after a hat-trick in the quarter-final against Gbench Achievers.

“Abass Akorede is the Osimhen of Egba, the Osimhen of Abeokuta is the only player that everybody is proud of. We believe in him more than anybody, Toyosi is also a good player but I believe in Abass more than any striker in Abeokuta,” he concluded.

TEAM SHEETS

MATCH STATISTICS

The post Toyin Amuzu 0-5 Joju Fadairo Babes: ‘Osimhen of Abeokuta’ leads demolition of Leragun Army in semi-final clash appeared first on Made In Africa Sport.