The Weekend Footballing Wind of Change

There is nothing constant in life except taxes, death, England missing penalties, NFF crises and Ozil’s chances.

Just like every other weekend, football took center stage – gluing fans to their television set or drawing them out to the stadiums across the world. But last weekend had a tingle of change as an silver or rusty lining.

1-0 to the Arsenal
Arsenal scrapped in a 1-0 win over relegation threatened Norwich at the Emirates. Danny Welbeck came on for Nigeria’s Alex Iwobi to grab the only goal of the game. It was a change in fortune for the Gunners who have struggled to get 3 points in recent time. The Gunners needed those 3 points to avoid the Champions League play off spot. Their quest was helped by Southampton (4-2 winners over Manchester City) and Leicester City (1-1 draw at Old Trafford).

The Miracle of Agege
When you play 11 matches without winning any, you may begin to question yourself about your ability to compete. This is even difficult to comprehend with about half of the 11 matches played at a place you call home.

 

 

Before the weekend, Ikorodu United managed just a victory in 6 home matches this season with the solitary victory on their opening home game. Last weekend, they had to play at the Agege Stadium and boom – they scored 3 goals for the 1st time despite going down in the 11th minute.

Has Agege Township Stadium changed the fortune of Ikorodu United? Will they ditch the luckless natural-pitched Onikan for the fan-filled, AstroTurf-ed Agege Stadium? Will they embrace the change and see if they can escape relegation?

Heartland were basking in the euphoria of grabbing a point from Champions Enyimba. They arrived Lagos on high, bossing Ikorodu United around but switched off their engines after scoring the opener. They paid for it by conceding a goal on the dot of half time and two more in the second half.

The other Lagos team MFM FC recorded their biggest win in the Nigeria Professional Football League with a 3-0 win over Akwa United. The visitors had a temporary coach on the bench after Maurice Coreman was suspended. Is that the change they clamoured for?

There were changes around the country. Kano Pillars grabbed their first away win over Sunshine Stars after 6 failed attempts. It was also their first away win since May 2015 – anniversary. Enyimba failed to win another home game and as expected there is a rant for you on ThatEnyimbaFan. The game ended 2-2 with captain Udoji salvaging a point for the Blues.

Rivers United conceded at home for the first time this season but were winners over table toppers who conceded 3 first half goals for the first time in over a year in the NPFL. Warri Wolves could not keep another clean sheet as Nasarawa United grabbed their first win in 7 matches against the Warri based side. Abia Warriors remained undefeated against FC IfeanyiUbah in the Oriental Derby of the weekend.

Results of MD14 in the NPFL

So, there you have it. It was full of changes. How the LMC will manage the Giwa FC case is a story for another day. The NFF crises is rubbing off on Giwa FC. I heard some revelations this morning on the and I am afraid, the crises is hear to stay. Imagine having fake FIFA letters around and cajoling the Nigeria populace to believing a fake document. You may want to tweet at @SportsExpressNG for more info.

Did you see Iheanacho’s brace? The kid is going places. Manchester City lost but he was the only star in blue. Etebo was also on song in Portugal.

For now, enjoy the new change of the month of May.

Enjoy.

By @AmosCP