3SC hold First Bank, shoot back to Nigeria Premiership     Posted on Monday, May 25th 2009

Shooting Stars Sports Club returned to the Nigeria Premier League on Sunday after holding First Bank FC to a goalless draw at the Onikan Stadium Waterfront, Lagos . Watched by a fairly large crowd, the game had all the trappings of a classic as both teams attacked at will. First Bank goalkeeper Salam Sheriff had a busy evening just as his opposite number Lukman Orire was called to duty on several occasions.

The First Bankers did everything possible to stop the former African champions and even ‘scored’ in the dying moments of the game, but grit and determination saw the Oluyole Warriors through.

The match almost ended in a fracas after Abubakar Kazeem fired the ball into the net from an offside position in added time. However, the ‘goal’ was duly disallowed by centre referee Nelson Otamere after his first assistant Lateef Razak (from Ondo State ) had raised his flag.

As the First Bank players protested Otamere’s decision, one of their players pounced on Razak and punched him on the face. Razak fell down in agony and it took sometime for him to be revived. The match later resumed but after less than a minute the ref blew his final whistle.  

Shooting Stars fans stormed the Onikan Stadium in their hundreds to spur their team on, and after the kick off it was hard to tell which of the two teams was the host. The match was a balanced affair in the first half hour as the end-to-end action kept spectators at the edge of their seats.

The best chance of the half fell on Timothy Idogbe in the 21st minute but the 3SC striker stunned the crowd when he missed a sitter following a beautiful right wing pull out from Adeyemi Adeyeye. Nine minutes later, Idogbe’s strike partner Meshach Chukwubuikem fluffed another opportunity after going solo from the right flank, leaving three defenders in his wake.

As half time approached, Adeyemi Adeyeye made his own solo run into the box and was upended by Churchill Austins but surprisingly, the ref penalized Adeyeye for simulation. The second stanza was more super-charged as First bank launched a series of attacks, but the 3SC defence marshaled by substitute Madu Chibuzor and Lekan Gabriel stood their ground, and successfully warded off the threats. After the hour 3SC almost snatched the lead when Saburi Omoyayi swung a cross into the box, but Ado Mohammed was denied after his header hit the post and bounced back to safety. Ten minutes later Idogbe almost broke the deadlock but again, he shot tamely over the bar.

At the end of the match, 3SC boss and Nigeria ex-international Mutiu Adepoju could hardly conceal his excitement when he said: “Our game plan was to win this game but a goalless draw is not bad considering the tension on the air prior to the encounter.” “We give God all the glory for this achievement and we wish to thank the Oyo State government and our loyal fans for giving us all the support we needed”
Mutiu Adepoju, who assumed duties as 3SC’s General Manager and Technical Director in February 2008 has made a strong statement by taking the club back to the mainstream of Nigerian football, and the historic achievement underscores his brilliant management style and technical acumen.