We tell you about the most interesting events of the second week of the biggest Nigerian amateur football tournament group stage.
The champion showed level
Barrister Ayo Julius’s words don’t disagree with the deed. The SB LFC coach promised to improve the quality of play and he proved it on the pitch. The 1xBet Cup 2023 winner resorted to the famous Ramba-Samba style, practically destroying Team 360 FC (4-1) and becoming the leader of Group B by gaining 6 points.
There could have been two leaders in this group, but Dosu Joseph FC squandered a two-goal lead over Ekiti Pillars gained by Hayatou Akindele who had scored a brace. The team from Ekiti State had their hero, too, as Adebayo Toheeb scored a comeback brace. Dosu Joseph FC got 4 points and learnt an important lesson – you should keep concentrated till the final whistle.
The Taming of the Scorer
Goalscorer, Okechukwu Nwanna, (8 goals include qualification, 2 goals on group stage 1xBet Cup 2024) failed to score against Eleven FA (1-1). Nevertheless, his silence did not prevent Bethel FC from maintaining their lead in Group A with 4 points.
Daring dark horse
Emiloju FC isn’t afraid of anyone and took 6 points out of 6 possible. The new star, Eyitayo Rasheed, is on fire, as he again brought the sensational team a minimal victory – now in a match against last year’s finalist, Ighalo FC.
Young Strikers FC becomes an unpleasant surprise. Last year’s semi-finalists lost to Ikorodu Eagles (0-1) and are now in last place in Group C. The team lacks scorers – so far, its players haven’t scored a single goal.
Emaljus FC had no right to make a mistake after losing in the first round, and thanks to Wasiu Yaya’s brace, the boys defeated Ikorodu Eagles (3-2). Emmanuel Onyema scored two goals for the losers, but the team didn’t have enough energy for two matches in a row.
Related: The 1xCup First Week: Ramba-Samba Style Wins Again!
The best examples of catenaccio
36 Lion FC became the leader of Group D. The public favorites made up for the unexpected defeat to Dominion Hotspur (0-1), and within two days, they beat Diadem Stallion FC (2-0) and then Royalty FC (1-0). Seun Lawal scored all 3 goals for 36 Lion FC. The left winger reminded of the importance of (Nigerian) grassroots football development and how the Atlanta Olympic champion Garba Lawal, one of Nigerian football legends, played brilliantly on the wing.
Dominion Hotspur is the shadow leader, having got 4 points after two games. The team didn’t concede again and played a draw in the match against China Sunstars FC. This was the first match in the tournament that ended with a 0-0 score.
Individual performances
Thanks to the increase of 1xBet Cup prize money (in Nigeria), at the end of the tournament, prize money will be awarded to the best player, as well as the top scorer and the best coach. The 1xBet community football championship participants are trying to do their best to gain an advantage in the fight for individual prizes, as this tournament has introduced the Man of the Match (MOTM) and the Coach of the Match (COTM) awards.
The trend of the second week was a slight decrease in performance – the teams scored 21 goals in 9 matches. This means that coaches are trying to improve their teams’ defensive play. But in the most important moments, the players’ talent shows up, resulting in five braces and other impressive individual performances.
The new level of 1xBet Cup prize money (in Nigeria)
Compared to the first tournament, the prize pool has quadrupled to 20,000,000 NGN, while the prize money for the champion has been increased tenfold to 10,000,000 NGN.
1xBet continues to invest in grassroots football (in Nigeria) and raised the excitement around the tournament to the level of Chappal Waddi mountain – 162 teams applied for participation in the second 1xCup tournament. After the qualification matches, the top 20 teams remained and were divided into 4 groups. The group winners will be promoted to the quarter-finals. The teams which finished second and third in their groups will fight for the remaining 4 places.
Make your contribution to supporting grassroots football (in Nigeria) by attending matches, following the latest news 1xBet Cup and placing bets on the tournament games!
