Match day five of the NNL24 season saw the Oga Boys cruise past gateway United, putting four unreplied goals past their opponents, Gateway United, to record their biggest win of the Nigeria National League (NNL) 23/24 season.
Three changes were made from the team that played a 1-1 draw against Inter Lagos the previous weekend. Salau Yusuf, Paul Aderibigbe and Ndukwe FearGod made the start, replacing injured Tosin Oyedokun, Benjamin Jatau and Sulaimon Babatunde.
LINE UP: GK: Godwin Victor, Ojetoye Waliu(C), Habeeb Musa, Idoko Daniel; Onwe Kelechi, Salau Yusuf, Toyeeb Gidado; Ndukwe FearGod, Salami Farouk & Paul Aderibigbe.
A quite even and balance first quarter of an hour it was with both teams trying to break the deadlock which came three minutes later. Farouk Salami slipped a pass for Paul to chase. Paul got the better of his defender and let a powerful strike from the edge of the box that beat the goalkeeper.
An early substitution saw Ndukwe FearGod withdrawn for Abikoye Uthman to make his debut in the 20th minute and it took only 11 minutes for the forward to make his mark.
Waliu beat his man for pace and sent a good pass into the box that was not cleared well but the sliding defender but fell at the mercy of Uthman who kept his composure to drag and round the goalkeeper before shooting into the goal with defenders on the line. A debut goal for the young forward.
Two minutes before before the break, Uthman proved pivotal again, beating his marker and going through on goal before being tugged back in the box winning a penalty. Salami Farouk stepped up and scored our third. It was his 5th goal contribution this season as he now has three goals and two assists.
The visitors came out stronger in the second half, forcing Victor Godwin to some top saves to keep the scoreline intact. Twenty minutes into the second half, Afoke Malik and Fuad Ekeleojuoti replaced Salami Farouk and Gidado Toyeeb while on the 81st minute, Omowanle Emmanuel and Frederick Jarbah replaced Kelechi Onwe and Paul Aderibigbe.
The final straw came with a beautiful build up which started from Victor Godwin in goal and ended with Abikoye Uthman getting his brace with a header off a cross from Fuad. A man of the match performance from the substitute.
Ikorodu City will now prepare for a game against another Lagos-based side Tradesafe FC away in Lagos on Saturday 23rd December 2023 with kickoff by 4:00pm WAT
SUBSTITUTIONS
OUT- Ndukwe FearGod IN- Abikoye Uthman- 20mins
OUT- Salami Farouk IN- Fuad Ekeleojuoti- 65mins
OUT- Gidado Toyeeb IN- Afoke Malik- 65mins
OUT- Kelechi Onwe IN- Frederick Jarbah- 81mins
OUT- Paul Aderibigbe IN- Omowanle Emmanuel- 81mins