Team Ogun and Team Kaduna have reached the semi-finals of the men football event at the ongoing 22nd National Sports Festival in Ogun State on Friday, www.aclsports.com reports.
Hosts, Team Ogun, faced Team Delta in one of the quarter-final matches played at the Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne. The Gateway State side met a stiff opposition from the Deltans, who qualified on the last day of action in the group stages with a spirited win over Team Edo on Thursday, but pulled through with a 2-1 win.
Remo Stars’ Jabbar Malik opened the scoring for the hosts after some fine play with Olawore Emmanuel providing the final ball for the former to blast home past Efe Barthlomew. However, Delta equalized almost immediately after a defensive lapse from Team Ogun. Qudus raced past a challenge from Omoh Ogana to fire past the goalkeeper, who was badly positioned.
The intense fight continued in the second half, with both sides testing each other. Olawore Emmanuel showed his class again to set up Musa Abdullahi for the winner in the 86th minute of the contest. Despite a late charge from the Deltans, Team Ogun held on to secure a place in the last four.
On Pitch B of the Remo Stars Stadium, Team Kaduna defeated Team Lagos 5-4 on penalties after it ended 1-1 in regulation time. It was a case of quality penalties between the two sides before Lagos missed their final kick, as Kaduna scored theirs to book their place in the semi-finals.
In the other quarterfinal games decided on Friday, five-time world champions Golden Eaglets, competing as Invited Junior Athletes (IJA), zoomed into the semi-finals with a comprehensive 5-0 thrashing of Team Ebonyi. Abdulmuiz Adeleke came up big with a brace as Mohammed Imrana, who was later sent off, also grabbed a goal. Destiny Samuel and Emmanuel Ochigbo were the other scorers. Team Kwara also defeated Team Imo 2-0 in the final game.
The semi-final games have been scheduled to take place on Saturday, with Team Kwara facing Team Kaduna, and the Golden Eaglets battling Team Ogun.
