…As Maiden Anioma Unity Football Tournament Kicks Off In Delta
Hard -fighting Oshimili North team eventually capitulated and caved in, with their resilience and tenacity broken by high -flying Ika South side who defeated them 2-1 in the opening match at the maiden Anioma Unity Football Tournament game played on Wednesday.
The match, which was held at the Austin JJ Okocha Stadium, Ogwashi-uku, in Aniocha South LGA, had seen both sides evenly matched in the first 45 minutes in a ding dong affair that ended in a draw.
However, the second half took another dimension with the introduction of two goals hero, Destiny Isioma, who helped himself with a brace to gift Ika South Football team the day after coming on as a second half substitute.
The leading goals scorer now in the tournament, Isioma opened his account just about 15 minutes after coming on to the field of play, outpacing his marker before cooly jabbing the ball home for the first goal.
The drama was not yet over as the Oshimili North side restored parity as they drew level off a blunder by the Ika South goalkeeper, Ayodele Oluwasegun, popularly known as Yaro, who had fumbled and spilled a free kick, with Solomon Onate pouncing on the loose ball to draw his team level and equalized.
All efforts by both sides to take the lead amounted to nothing with Ika South side having a slight upper hand and coming close at different occasions.
Their efforts eventually paid off with about 15 minutes left on the clock as Isioma again scored the winner in the 75th minute after latching onto a through pass from his teammate before unleashing a shot to hand Ika South passage to the next round, where they will face Aniocha North on Thursday, at the Kwale Township Stadium.
Speaking after the match, the tournament convener, Collins Okonkwo, described the encounter as fascinating saying it had shown that the Anioma nation is blessed with abundant talent ready to be harnessed.
Okonkwo also said that the Anioma Unity Football Tournament is a platform created to discover the abundant talents that abound in the region with the aim of exposing them to the national and international stage.
He also lauded the various teams for participating in the tournament saying the competition would continue to get bigger and better.
The organizer praised the huge support from well-meaning sons and daughters of Anioma nation, especially Senator Ned Nwoko for his support.
He assured that the best players would be scouted by a team of panellists to ensure the area discovered players who could play for the national teams like the late Stephen Keshi, Sunday Oliseh, Austin JJ Okocha, Nduka Ugbade and Wilfred Ndidi.
The competition which has the nine Local Government Areas in Delta North participating, will see the finals taking place at the Stephen Keshi International Stadium, Asaba, on December 29.
