Sporting Lagos Beat Gombe 2-0 On Their NPFL Debut, Promise More Goals And Entertaining Football

Sporting Lagos began their Nigeria Premier Football League adventure brightly on Monday by beating Gombe United 2-0 in their matchday 1 tie at Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan, Lagos.

Rivio Ayemwenre scored the opening goal on 42 minutes and Clement Naantaum made it 2-0 as the Paul Ofor’s team bagged maximum points in front of extatic home fans.

The Noisy Lagosians have had a meteoric rise in the domestic league since their formation in 2022. They escaped relegation in their first season in the Nigeria National League, secured promotion in their second season, and are looking to make our mark in the top flight.

Before the match, their head coach, Paul Ofor, promised to keep playing entertaining football, their stock in trade, and score more goals than they did last term when they gained promotion to the NPFL.

Scoring two goals without conceding any against Gombe United showed the young club are ready to live up to the billing as regards the latter promise.

“Again, we’re not burdening ourselves with any position before a ball is kicked. We’re in the league for the first time, and we have to respect the league. What we can promise is that we’re going to keep playing the exciting football we play. We’re also going to score more goals this season. And goals win games. We want to take it one game at a time and win the games in front of us. That’s our objective,” said Ofor.

The youthful gaffer also reflected on the frustrations occasioned by two shifts in the commencement date of the 2023–2024 NPFL season.

“There was no rest. We thought the league was resuming earlier than this, so the players only had two weeks of rest. The coaching staff immediately got into work mode to prepare for the new season, tactically and personnel-wise. We knew the areas of the squad that needed strengthening, and we began to scout,” he said.

The team’s road strength will be severely tested on October 8 when they take on Akwa United for their matchday 2 tie at Godswill Akpabio Intentional Stadium, Uyo, the Akwa IBOM State capital.

Match Day 1 Results

SOURCE: GLOBALSPORTS