Sports
Derby Clash: Sharks, Dolphins’ Fans In War Of Words
The war of words have been on in Port Harcourt between fans of Dolphins and Sharks as the derby day approaches.
Both teams go head to head on Sunday at the Sharks FC Stadium in a game that will have a role to play in whether both sides remain in the Nigeria Professional Football League next season.
Both sides need to win the game, but a draw will favour Dolphins more since they are the away side and currently above Sharks on the log.
Telema George who says he has been a fan of Sharks all his life declares that only one result is possible on Sunday which will be a win for his side.
“Sharks are in a bad position now and do not need to drop points at home. We need the three points badly to escape relegation and I am sure we will win on Sunday against Dolphins,” Telema George said.
A member of the Dolphins Supporters club, Agwu Augustus, however, is optimisitc that Sharks will lose on Sunday.
“We are going to beat Sharks. It’s a local derby and it is unpredictable but with the caliber of players we have, I am optimistic we will defeat Sharks,” Augustus said.
Looking at the recent exchanges between both sides, Telema George admits that Sharks should be wary of Dolphins but says he will pray to God so his side could win.
“We look on God and we are praying. We always have the fear of Dolphins because when you compare both of them, Dolphins have a better head to head record compared to Sharks,” Telema George said.
Agu Augustus on his part admits it will be a tough game, but Dolphins will win and escape relegation at the end of the season.
“It will be a tight match, but we will win. With the caliber of players we have I don’t see why we won’t win,” he said.
When both sides played at the Liberation Stadium in the first round of the league, it ended 1-1, Yusuf Jaiyeola opening scores for Sharks and Godbless Asamoah getting the equalizer with three minutes left to play.
Meanwhile, Six goal hero for Dolphins this season, Godbless Asamoah wants his seventh and maybe eight on Sunday in the Port Harcourt derby.
Asamoah did not play for Dolphins until Match Day 10 against FC Taraba in Jalingo.
He has also been out injured on two occasions totalling eight match days, yet has managed six goals for his side this season.
Now he wants to score the goals that will give his side maximum points against neighbours, Sharks on Sunday.
“Remember, my first ever goal for Dolphins was against Sharks at our home. Now I pray to God that I can do same at their home,” Asamoah said.
“It’s a local derby. Remember the last time I scored against Sharks was my first goal in the Nigerian league so I believe I can do same again as we continue on our way to escaping relegation,” the Ghanaian striker said.
After he made his debut for the club against FC Taraba, he expressed the the desire to either finish top scorer in the league or at least for the club.
“The league is still going on and I know if I cannot be league top scorer, then I can be for Dolphins, just like Emem (Eduok) did last season.
“Then after this season, I can continue my goals adventure next season,” he said.
England captain Harry Kane netted a hat-trick to guide Bayern Munich to an impressive victory against Stuttgart.
Kane’s goals, plus one from Kingsley Coman, helped Bayern end a three-game winless run in all competitions.
They faced a tough task against a Stuttgart side who sat back and limited their chances, leading Vincent Kompany’s side to enter the break frustrated and with the deadlock unbroken.
Bayern eventually found a way past Stuttgart’s steely defence when Kane drilled a low effort into the bottom corner from around 30 yards out after Joshua Kimmich overturned possession.
Former Nigeria goalkeeper, Dosu Joseph, is full of thanks to God after he miraculously survived another life-threatening automobile accident recent at Kara, along the Lagos-Ibadan Express Way, where a heavy-duty truck ran into his SUV.
Narrating his ordeal, the 51-year-old, who guided Nigeria to gold in the Men’s Football Tournament of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, broke the news in a statement on his social media handles on Friday.
“To God be the glory, another death escaped by Grace and Mercy of God. Me and my friend SM were at Enyo Filling Station after Ojodu Berger bus stop to get fuel on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, around 6 p.m. when this MACK truck fully loaded with iron, with registration number LND 470 XX, left the road and crushed my car beyond repairs. Thank God for life,” he stated.
This is the second time the soft-spoken club proprietor will cheat death by a whisker, having been involved in an accident in 1997 that ended his career at 23 and left his spinal cord in bad shape.
He helped Julius Berger win the Nigeria FA Cup in November 1997 shortly a memorable Olympic outing by keeping a clean sheet in the finals against Katsina United. The following year, he was involved in the auto along Ikorodu Road, Lagos, which not only cut his career short but also left him almost paralysed, ending his spell at Serie A club Reggiana.
The former Nigeria international, who also kept goal for Julius Berger FC, said the case has been reported to Isheri Police Station, Ogun State, where the driver is currently detained and the truck also seized.
According to him, the owner of the truck said he can’t fix the badly damaged SUV until after a year.
Ex – Super Eagles of Nigeria, Okwuchukwu Waobikeze has observed that sports development in Nigeria is going down.
According to him, grassroots sports is very important, without it, the administrators cannot get it right. So everybody should key into grassroots sports development, he said.
Waobikeze said this last Wednesday in an interview with sports journalists shortly after the Port Harcourt All Stars Independence football festival (OCTOBERFEST) at the Port Harcourt club, Rivers State.
He explained that for sports administrators to get it right, grassroots development is key. “They should be organising competition at the grassroots level to fish out the young ones for different sporting activities.
“Grassroots sports is very important so the administrators have to go back to the grassroots.
” Sports Development in Nigeria is going down we need to go back to the basics.
“Look at the just concluded Paris Olympics, Nigeria did not win any medal.
” Our football team did not even qualify for the Olympics. We are going down.
” If they should go back to the grassroots, they will get young ones in the games and talents will be developed.
” I started from school games, to youth games before playing for the national team. Now everybody wants to fly board to play professional football and a lot do not know the basics of the game.
” A lot of people did not know the little things about the game, they just want to play. It is not done so,” Waobikeze stated.
Kiadum Edookor
