Ikorodu City FC kicked off the new month in grand style with a commanding 2-0 victory over Heartland FC of Owerri in our Nigeria Premier Football League Matchday 27 fixture at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Lagos.
In a game where we put our best foot forward, Oga Boys almost found the net in the very first minute. Academy graduate Musa Malik was played through on goal by our captain for the day, Tosin Oyedokun—standing in for the absent Waliu Oyetoye. However, his stretched effort couldn’t make contact as a Heartland defender cleared the danger for a corner. From the resulting set piece, Shola Adelani’s header narrowly missed the target after coming off the crossbar.
LINEUP: Oluwadamilare Aina; Nasiru Suleiman, Harrison Uzondu, Chibuike Oheagbulam, Leonard Ngenge; Onwe Kelechi, Olatunji Abdulmalik, Adelani Shola; Tosin Oyedokun, Okechukwu Nwanna, Musa Malik.
The visitors had a chance of their own in the 5th minute from a corner kick, but defender Leonard Ngenge was on hand to head the ball clear and intercept the rebound. In the 8th minute, a slick combination between Malik and Shola found Tosin in a great position, but his shot was blocked for another corner. From that set piece, Leonard rose highest to head home his first top-flight goal, assisted by Harrison Uzondu, sending our fans into celebration.
Heartland looked to respond on the counter in the 21st minute, but Chibuike Oheagbulam stepped in to neutralize the danger. Tosin almost doubled our lead in the 38th minute with a well taken free kick after Olatunji was fouled just outside the box. His curling effort struck the crossbar, and Leonard’s follow-up went just wide. As the first half neared its end, the visitors piled pressure on our defense in search of an equalizer. Their closest chance came in the 45+3 minute of additional time, but our defense stood firm to preserve our lead heading into the break.
Early in the second half, our gaffer Nurudeen Aweroro made a triple substitution, bringing on Salau Yusuf (returning from a long absence), Ayomide Cole, and Freedom Marvelous to add firepower to our attack. The impact was immediate. In the 58th minute, super-sub Cole latched onto a through ball from Shola and coolly slotted it home for his 6th goal of the season to double our lead and send the fans into wild celebration.
Despite the two-goal cushion, our lads continued pushing for more while staying compact at the back. In the 85th minute, academy graduate Musa Malik received cheers from the supporters as he was substituted for Oladimeji Dada after an impressive performance.
The game ended 2-0 in favour of Ikorodu City, securing our first home clean sheet since our 2-0 win over Elkanemi Warriors in November 2024 and strengthening our position on the league table.
UP NEXT
Following this impressive win, the team now turns its attention to Matchday 28, where we will travel to face Lobi Stars, aiming to complete a league double over the Bauchi based side.
SUBSTITUTES
OUT: Okechukwu Nwanna IN: Ayomide Cole 46’
OUT: Nasiru Sulieman IN: Freedom Marvelous 46’
OUT: Kelechi Onwe IN: Salau Yusuf 46’
OUT: Harrison Uzondu IN: Moses Shodeinde 78’
OUT: Musa Malik IN: Dada Oladimeji 85’
BOOKING
Chibuike Oheagbulam 86’