Saturday, 6 February 2016

Awolowo Tennis Club Golden League kicks off

THE Golden League of the Obafemi Awolowo Tennis Club (OATC) kicked off on Saturday (February 7), at the tennis courts of the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, Ibadan, with nine games decided on the opening day.

According to the Club Captain of OATC, Mr Kunle Yusuf, the Golden League serves as the club's competition for rankings of members aside other competitions named after individuals.

The first round of the Golden League season would end in May, while the second round is scheduled to kick off in the first week of July, after the June break for Muslims fasting.

Yusuf, who is also the OATC top seed, stated that the Golden League provides members the opportunity to improve in their standard of play.

He noted that "there is bound to be an improvement if you are involved in a competition that mere playing for fitness only."

The Golden League will see all interested members play one  another on a two-legged affair.

Meanwhile, Benjamin Abitoye began the Golden League on a good note as he recorded two wins on the
opening day. Abitoye first defeated Obinna Odigwe 6-2, 6-2 and Collins Okofu 6-2, 6-2 to amass six points.

Yemi Asaleye also bagged three points when he dumped Green Opuada 6-2, 6-4, as Olatunde Oladimeji recorded a 7-5, 7-6 victory over Father Martin Olowoyeye, while Ibrahim Ndaaba also defeated Collins
Okofu in his second game of the day 6-0, 6-1.

Captain Yusuf pipped Barrister Leye Olubajo 6-4, 6-1, as Chris Amadi defeated Tunji Lam Adesina after three sets which ended in 6-3, 0-6 and 6-4, while Obinna Odigwe in his second game of the day triumphed this time over Ganiyu Salman after a pulsating three-set game which ended in 6-1, 3-6 and 7-5.

Barrister Olubajo later in his second game of the day also defeated Olowoyeye 7-5, 6-0.



Wednesday, 30 December 2015

It will be foolish to sell Ighalo now-Watford captain

WATFORD captain Troy Deeney believes it will be counter productive for the newly-promoted English Premier League side to sell Nigerian striker, Odion Ighalo to any prospective bidder for now.
 

Ighalo has been in a devastating form this season scoring 14 goals so far in the top flight after 20 goals last season to aid the Hornets' promotion from the English Championship.
 

Teams in England and Europe which include Atletico Madrid and AS Roma are reportedly eyeing the signature of the Super Eagles striker, but Deeney believes the Watford owner, Gino Pozzo will not make a mistake of allowing Ighalo to go.

 

“He (Ighalo) ain’t going in January. If no one wanted any of our players we’d be c**p. So, come and want him as much as you want but I know Gino [Pozzo, the Watford owner] and it just wouldn’t make sense,” Deeney told theguardian.com.
 

“Why would he sell a striker and want to stay in the league? The value of selling Odion for, what would he be worth? £20 million, £25 million? Or staying up and getting £200 million? Simple business maths, he’s not going to sell him. Odion doesn’t come in saying: ‘I want to leave.’ He’ll just keep doing what he’s doing. We just laugh at it.”
 

Ighalo, it will be recalled on Monday night became the first player to score in six consecutive EPL games for Watford in a 1-2 loss to Tottenham Hotspur at Vicarage Road. The strike was also the 34th goal by Ighalo in 2015, who emerges the best striker in English all top four divisions.

Meanwhile, the Quique Sanchez Flores-piloted Watford is eighth on the EPL table with 29 points from 19 games.


Caption: Ighalo shows skill during a game.

Saturday, 26 December 2015

Mikel impresses Hiddink despite 2-2 draw with Watford


RETURNEE manager of Chelsea, Guus Hiddink showered encomiums on John Mikel Obi despite the team's 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge on a Boxing Day.
 

The Nigeria international came on to replace Cesc Fabregas in the 46th minute, and his inclusion brought some level of stability into the Blues defence to the delight of his Dutch manager.
 

Hiddink who took over from sacked Portuguese manager, Jose Mourinho, said on the Blues official website that he was impressed with the performance of Mikel, whose close range shot almost delivered full points for the London side.
 

"I liked our intensity but we also have to look for a balance in the team. It’s a very attacking-orientated team.
"When we have a midfield with all creative players it’s beautiful but sometimes you need a balance and I thought John Obi gave us that balance.
 

“When you have the creative players such as Matic, Oscar, Willian coming inside and Cesc as well, sometimes you have to choose in a different way," said Hiddink, who had earlier coached Chelsea in 2009 season.
 

Meanwhile, Chelsea will on Monday night Manchester United, whose manager, Louis van Gaal, has been under intense pressure to resign following a spate of poor results.
 

The Red Devils lost 0-2 to Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium also on a Boxing Day with goals from Bojan Krkic and Marko Arnautovic thus; need victory to save the job of van Gaal, who is equally ready to throw in the towel if the result of Monday's game call for it.

Caption: Mikel Obi.

Monday, 16 November 2015

Globacom Premier League Week 38 results and final table

Heartland           2 El-Kanemi Warriors 1
Shooting Stars   2 Dolphins                    2
Nasarawa Utd   2 Giwa FC                     0
Kwara United    2 FC Ifeanyiubah         0
Abia Warriors   1 Sharks                       0
Warri Wolves    5 FC Taraba                1
Sunshine Stars 0 Enyimba                     0
Rangers            3 Bayelsa Utd              1
Akwa United    1 Lobi Stars                  0      
Wikki Tourists 2 Kano Pillars              0


Final league table
                                            P   W   D  L   GF  GA PTS
1. Enyimba                          38  19  13 06  48  27  70
2. Warri Wolves                 38  19  09 10  62  29  66
3. Nasarawa United           38  18  09 11  46  35  63
4. Wikki Tourists               38  18  09 11  45  36  63
5. Giwa FC                         38  17  12 09  44  41  63
6. Sunshine Stars               38  18  07 13  58  38  61 
7. Kano Pillars                   38  16  07 15  45  39  55
8. Heartland FC                 38  17  05 16  46  40  56
9. Shooting Stars               38  15  08 15  39  39  53
10. Abia Warriors              38  16  05 17  39  43  53
11. IfeanyiUbah                 38  14  08 16  37  40  50
12. Rangers                        38  13  10 15  46  51  49
13. El-Kanemi Warriors    38  14  07 17  38  56  49
14. Lobi Stars                     38  11  14 13  34  39  47
15. Akwa United                 38  13  08 17  33  43  47
16. Dolphins FC                 38  11  12 15  38  40  45
.......
17. Sharks FC                     38  11  12 14  28  39  45
18. Kwara United                38  12  06 20  32  46  42
19. Taraba FC                     38  09  10 19  30  47  37
20. Bayelsa United              38  07  13 18  28  48  34

.......

Monday, 9 November 2015

Globacom Premier League update

Globacom Premier League Wk 37 results

Kano Pillars              1 Akwa United    0   
El-Kanemi Warriors 1 Wikki Tourists 0           
Dolphins FC             2 Heartland         1           
Giwa FC                  1 Shooting Stars   0   
FC IfeanyiUbah     0 Nasarawa Utd    2
Sharks FC              1 Kwara United    0           
Taraba FC              2 Abia Warriors    1           
Enyimba                  0 Warri Wolves    0
Bayelsa United       1 Sunshine Stars  2           
Lobi Stars             2 Rangers               0
........

Week 37 Table
                                                       P       W       D     L   GF  GA  PTS
1. Enyimba International              37     19     12     06  48  27    69
2. Warri Wolves                            37     18     09     10  57  28    63
3. Giwa FC                                     37    17     12     08  44   39   63

4. Sunshine Stars                         37     18     06     13  58    38   60  
5. Nasarawa United                      37     17     09     11  44   35   60
6. Wikki Tourists                          37     17     09     11  43   36   60
7. Kano Pillars                             37     16     07     14  45    37   55
8. Heartland FC                           37     16     05     16  44    39   53
9. Shooting Stars                         37     15     07     15  37    37   52
10.FC IfeanyiUbah                     37     14     08     15  37    38   50
11. Abia Warriors                        37     15     05     17  38  43    50
12. El-Kanemi Warriors             37     14     07     16  37  54    49
13. Lobi Stars                             37    11      14    12  34    38    47
14. Rangers International         37     12     10    15  43    50    46
15. Sharks FC                            37     11     12     14  28   38    45
16. Dolphins FC                        37     11     11     15  36    38    45
17. Akwa United                       37     12     08     17  32   43    44
18. Kwara United                      37     11     06     20  30  46    39
19. Taraba FC                           37     09     10     18  29  42    37
20. Bayelsa United                   37     07     13     17  27  45    34
............
Globacom Premier League Week 38 fixtures
Sunday, November 15, 2015

Heartland      vs El-Kanemi Warriors
Shooting Stars vs Dolphins
Nasarawa Utd   vs Giwa FC
Kwara United   vs FC Ifeanyiubah
Abia Warriors  vs Sharks
Warri Wolves   vs FC Taraba
Sunshine Stars vs Enyimba
Rangers        vs Bayelsa Utd
Akwa United    vs Lobi Stars
Wikki Tourists vs Kano Pillars



Saturday, 7 November 2015

Globacom Premier League Week 37 fixtures

Sunday, November 8, 2015

Kano Pillars              vs Akwa United  
El-Kanemi Warriors vs Wikki Tourists           
Dolphins FC             vs Heartland           
Giwa FC                    vs Shooting Stars   
FC IfeanyiUbah       vs Nasarawa United
Sharks FC               vs Kwara United           
Taraba FC               vs Abia Warriors           
Enyimba                  vs Warri Wolves
Bayelsa United       vs Sunshine Stars           
Lobi Stars               vs Rangers

Monday, 2 November 2015

Globacom Premier League Week 36 results and table

Wikki Tourists     2 Dolphins       0
Heartland             3 Giwa              2
Shooting Stars     2 Ifeanyiubah  1
Rangers                2 Akwa Utd     2
El-Kanemi Warriors 1 Kano Pillars 0
Kwara United       1 FC Taraba    0
Abia Warriors      0 Enyimba      1
Warri Wolves       4 Bayelsa Utd  0
Nasarawa United    2 Sharks       2 (Abandoned)
Match awarded by LMC to Nasarawa 3-0
Sunshine Stars     0 Lobi Stars   1 (Abadoned in 77th min)
Remaining minutes to be played in Abuja
..........

Rescheduled games.
Sunshine Stars  5 Rangers      1
Ifeanyiubah       2 El-Kanemi   1


Table

                                                     P       W       D   L     PS
1. Enyimba International          36     19     11     06     68
2. Warri Wolves                        36     18     08     10     62
3. Wikki Tourists                     36     17     09     10     60
4. Giwa FC                               36     16    12      08     60
5. Sunshine Stars                    35     17     05     13     56
6. Heartland FC                      36     16     05     15     53
7. Nasarawa United               35     16     08     11     56
8. Kano Pillars                       36     15     07     14     52
9. Shooting Stars                   36     15     07     14     52
10. Abia Warriors                  36     15     05     16     50
11. FC IfeanyiUbah               36    14     08     14      50
12. Rangers International     36    12     11     13     46
13. El-Kanemi Warriors       36     13     07     16     46
14. Akwa United                  36     12     08     16     44
15. Lobi Stars                      35     10     13     12     43
16. Sharks                            36     10     12     14     42
....................................................................
17. Dolphins                      36     10     11     15     41
18. Kwara United             36     11     06     19     39
19. Bayelsa United          36     07     13     16     34
20. Taraba                        35     08     09     18     33