FCIU survive Sunshine scar
It was an evening of finger biting and near misses, characterised by wrong footing by the FC Ifeanyi Ubah (FCIU) players who survived the scars of defeat from the Sunshine Stars of Akure to come tops in the Week 17 encounter by two goals to one.
The match was the second home match in a week for Anambra Warriors who has climbed to the middle of the table.
The game started under the scourging sun with Godwin Obaje missing a begging chance after four minutes. The pressure on the Akure boys caused them to earn two yellow cards in the 9th and 14th minutes respectively.
The near misses continued till the end of first half, even with a free-kick awarded FCIU at the edge of the 18-yard box before the break.
The second half brought out the compact game of Sunshine boys who dared the host to register the first goal in the 72nd minute by Joseph, after Prince Agree had ballooned the first penalty awarded Ifeanyi Ubah in the 64th minute.
The goal by the visitors turned the stadium agog with the fans breathing down the necks of both the coach and the FCIU players. And it paid off as Obaje was brought down again, this time, by the Sunshine goalkeeper inside the 18-yard box. This time, the lanky striker, who earns half-a-million naira a week, did justice to balance the score line in the 85th minute.
The last five minutes of the Sunday evening became so tensed up that the fans stood up till the end of the game as FCIU mounted pressure till the 93 minute when Seka Pascal took the bull by the horn to waltz through the defence of Sunshine to deliver a hero’s goal and the winner.
