Kunle ADELABU
– Oga Boys FC walk-over Excel to win 3rd place
It was a complete drubbing in the final of the 10th edition of Gafaar Bolowotan Memorial Gold Cup as A.A.C.C Football Academy of Ikorodu defeated Makbet FC of Ibeshe 6 goals to 1 to lift the trophy for the third time.
The winning team, which had won the trophy back-to-back in 2014, 2015 and 2016, went home with the cash prize of #250,000.
The tournament was organized by the Ikorodu Division Football Association (IDFA) in conjunction with Gafaar Bolowotan Foundation and lasted for three months.
The highly entertaining final match started on a high tempo as players of both teams put up a skillful and artistic display to the admiration of the guests and spectators at the Police Barracks Playing Ground in Ikorodu.
Makbet striker, Pius Peres, broke the deadlock in the 11th minute of the first half with a powerful strike which caught their opponents unaware as they failed to convert several goals opportunities that came their way.
The goal, however, spurred the A.A.C.C FC players into action as they took control of the match and mounted pressure on their opponents and their efforts paid off in the 15th minutes when Malomo Taofeek (Jersey number 16) equalized with a superb strike.
From then on, A.A.C.C FC took charge of the match and piled more pressure on the Ibeshe boys and in the 17th minute, the team’s striker, Ubani Wisdom, scored to put the Oduborisha boys in the lead.
The duo of Raheem Rasheed (in Jersey number 11) and Ajago James, a substitute in Jersey number 17, increased the tally in the 25th and 65th minutes respectively to take the match beyond Makbet FC.
Makbet FC’s woes were compounded in the 56th minutes when one of their players got the second yellow card and was consequently given a matching order by the centre Referee, David Hassan.
In the 70th, A.A.C.C striker, Adeyiga Taiwo ( in Jersey number 9), connected a well tailored pass from Ubani Wisdom, who had brilliantly dribbled a Makbet FC’s defender who was left helpless on the turf, and released a powerful shot which sailed into the net to make the scoreline 5 – 1.
Adeyiga added his second goal of the match in the 80th minute to wrap up the goal feast.
Meanwhile, it was an easy victory for the Oga Boys FC which walked-over Excel FC in the third place match after it was discovered that the team fielded six unregistered players.
Excel FC, which won the first edition of the Lagos East Unity Cup about two weeks ago, was left with six players after six players had been disqualified for being ineligible.
The incident forced the team to be walked over by their opponents as they were short of the minimum number of players required by the rule to start a match.
The maximum three points and three goals were awarded to the Oga Boys FC which emerged the third best team in the tournament.
A total of 28 teams were registered for the tournament out of which 21 teams came from Ikorodu division while the remaining 7 teams came from outside the division.
More so, a total of 59 matches were played while 283 goals were scored in the tournament which has been tagged, ‘Ikorodu World Cup’ by sports analysts and fans.
The second placed team, Makbet FC, won a cash prize of N125,000 while the 3rd place team, Oga Boys FC, went home with N75 ,000 cash prize
The young, skillful and highly talented A.A.C.C FC’s striker, Ubani Wisdom who is a secondary school student, emerged the highest goalscorer of the tournament with seven goals in six matches.
Meanwhile, Mr Toyin Gafaar Bolowotan, the sponsor of the tournament, while assuring the gathering on the sustenance of the tournament, said that the tournament would keep improving every year.
Among the guests that graced the final match were Prince Hakeem Olukunga, member of the Governing Board, Lagos State Sports Commission, Otunba Debo Ogunade, Chairman, Destiny FC, Alhaji Saheed Akinsanya, President of the Grassroots Sports Development Forum and a Safety Ambassador and Taiwo Oloyede, former player of the defunct Stationery Stores among others.
