MONDAY REPORT
By Duro Ikhazuagbe
The Nigerian National League Super 8 ended yesterday in Enugu with Niger Tornadoes emerging champions of the second tier football league in the country.
Tornadoes defeated Shooting Stars of Ibadan 3-2 to emerge winners as well as bagged the bragging rights to the topflight Nigerian league from where the Minna team got relegated in 2019. It is familiar ground for all the four teams. From the Southern Conference, Shooting Stars and Remo Stars picked the tickets while Gombe United and Tornadoes are from the Northern Conference.
However, before yesterday’s final game between Tornadoes and 3SC, the playoff witnessed the most bizarre infractions never ever seen in the domestic football scene here. And the clubs in the centre of it all were Remo Stars and Bendel Insurance. First, lets refresh with the details of what led to the high-wire last game of the Group B of the playoff between the two teams.
In the regular 2020/21 NNL season, both Insurance and Remo had been involved in a fracas that got the intervention of the NFF to resolve. It bothered on hooliganism witnessed during the Benin team’s away trip to Remo.
And so when the Super 8 Playoff paired both teams in Group B in Enugu, many ball watchers anticipated what played.
With Insurance losing their first game to 3SC and conceding a last minute penalty to Ekiti United to tie the game one-all and having just one point from a possible six, it was obvious that the last Group match was going to determine who takes the last ticket into the NPFL. And so began the drama.
With NNL posting the same officials that were perceived to have ‘worked’ against Insurance in the clash with Ekiti once more for the battle with Remo, officials of the Benin team raised objections and wanted them changed. For a game scheduled for 3pm, Insurance officials remained adamant not to leave their bench to play the game. After waiting for two hours, the NFF and NNL leadership had to accede to the request of Insurance by changing the match officials. Chairman of the NNL, Senator Obinna Ogba who had earlier warned all the teams to play fair, used his veto to ensure the match officials are removed. Was this a justification for earlier claims by both parties that some match officials had compromised and were out to work against one of the teams in Group B?
Anyway, Centre Referee Ahmed Rabiu was changed with female referee, Peace Ndidi Madu called to take charge of this volatile game at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium. By the time the issue of referee was sorted out with 3SC securing one of the tickets with a 6-0 defeat of Ekiti United, it was now obvious that there was all to play for in this clash between Insurance and Remo Stars. Of course, all that the Ikenne team needed to progress was a point from this game while Insurance with just one point from two games needed 3-0 defeat of Remo to cause an upset.
With the referee matter sorted, both Insurance and Remo took to the pitch to sort out the matter in the full glare of all football aficionados. After 90 minutes, Remo Stars secured a 2-2 victory to finish five points like 3SC and returned to the topflight from where they drop in 2019. For Insurance, it is another season in the second tier league. They failed to achieve the desire of Deputy Governor Phillip Shaibu to get back into the topflight.
Despite the good backing the Benin Arsenal enjoy from the government, the quality displayed in the playoff in Enugu didn’t reflect that they were ready to join the big boys of the domestic club football. Insurance need those versed in the domestic league as managers to shake off this current lethargy.
