The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Dolphins

  • Dolphins vs Rangers, biggest crowd in eight years

    Dolphins vs Rangers, biggest crowd in eight years

    The League game in Port Harcourt between Dolphins and Rangers recorded the biggest turn out the club has seen in eight years.

    According to Dolphins media officer, China Acheru, the last time the club saw that number of people in a home league game was in 2005 in the final of the CAF Confederation Cup first leg against Club Africain of Tunisia.

    “The figure was put at a little below ten thousand people and this was given to us by the head of ticketing at the stadium. The turnout was unprecedented, but thanks to HARP, our jersey endorsement partners who activated the deal on the day of the game and after a series of road shows, radio broadcasts and other promos, the fans turned out in their numbers.

    “We all know Dolphins hardly have fans in their home games but the turning point we believe was that Rangers game as the next game after that which was against Enyimba had a sizeable turn out, though not as much as that against Rangers,” Acheru said.

    Between 2005 and now, the other time Dolphins had a record turnout was the last day of the 2008/09 season against First Bank in Port Harcourt.

    That day Dolphins gained promotion back to the Premier League and there was a party at the stadium that had artists like Duncan Mighty, Pero of Stone Cold and Sky B.

  • Dolphins’ Chinwo wants Eagle’s chance

    Dolphins’ Chinwo wants Eagle’s chance

    Dolphins defender, Kennedy Chinwo will relish a chance to prove his mettle in the Super Eagles having distinguished himself at junior level with Nigeria.

    The 27-year-old power-playing right-back is on the books of three-time Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) champions, Dolphins and has earned rave reviews for his part in the recent successes recorded by the Port Harcourt-based club.

    Chinwo now wants a crack at the senior national team as he believes he has the experience and ability to make the African champions even stronger.

    “(Head coach, Stephen) Keshi has done what none of his predecessors did in the past. He has given locally-based players a chance. Players like Sunday Mba, Godfrey Oboabona and Azubuike Egwuekwe have proved that he has not made a mistake in that regard,” Chinwo told supersport.com.

    Chinwo was part of the Nigeria under-17 side that lost to France at the Fifa Under-17 World Championship in Trinidad and Tobago in 2001.

    His all round displays suitably impressed the national selectors and he was promoted to the under-20 side, then managed by the former Super Eagles manager, Samson Siasia.

    He was part of the squad that won the 2005 African Youth Championships (AYC) in Benin Republic.

    The Nigerian under-20 side, which narrowly lost 1-2 to a Lionel Messi-inspired Argentina in the final of the 2005 World Youth Championships (WYC) in the Netherlands, is widely acknowledged as one of the best ever assembled Nigerian under-20 sides.

    “Those were great days. We were very unlucky not to have won the Under-20 title for Nigeria.

    “Players like Sani Kaita, Chinedu Obasi, Isaac Promise, Taye Taiwo and John Obi Mikel were all in that squad. It was a great moment in my career,” he said. Chinwo’s game is defined by lung-bursting runs, total commitment and canon-like shots that usually make him a threat from set pieces.

  • ‘Dolphins won’t do Sharks any favours’

    ‘Dolphins won’t do Sharks any favours’

    Vice chairman of Dolphins supporter’s club, Prince Prezi Difa says Sharks should look elsewhere for their salvation and stop hoping on Dolphins.

    Difa said Tuesday that Sharks should not depend on Dolphins to get out of the relegation zone as they will not spare their visitors at the Liberation Stadium today.

    “Every time Sharks are in trouble they want us to help them. The truth is we did not put them in the condition they are in, so they should not expect us to get them out of it,” Difa said.

    “We are in touching distance of a place on the continent and we can even still win the league, so I wonder why they feel they will come to our stadium and collect three points on Wednesday.

    “We are also not in a good position as we lost to Sunshine Stars over the weekend and must regain the points and goals from somewhere. If Sharks want a way out of relegation they should go and get it from somewhere else,” the vice chairman said.

    In the first round of the league, the game between both sides at the Sharks FC Stadium ended goaless.

    Sharks are currently 17th on the League table while Dolphins are 8th.

  • Dolphins commiserate with Pillars

    Dolphins commiserate with Pillars

    Dolphins General Manager Dumbo Awanen says the club shares the pain of Kano Pillars after a motor accident left members of their technical crew hospitalised.

    “The news came to us as a surprise and I can tell you we were all shocked at what we heard. You know we travel these roads ourselves and whenever we arrive safely we thank God for journey mercies,” Awanen said.

    “It is unfortunate that a life was lost and we pray God grants his family the fortitude to bear the loss. For Kano Pillars we believe they will soon put this encounter behind them and continue to face their business of playing football. We wish the coaches who were hospitalised quick recovery,” Awanen prayed.

    The accident, which occurred on Thursday afternoon at Gangarida in Ikara LGA of Kaduna State, was caused by a burst tyre which also resulted in the death of a roadside mechanic.

    Pillars technical adviser Baba Ganaru, coach Abdu Maikaba and assistant coach Kabiru Baleria were all seriously injured.

     

  • Dolphins can still win the League — Rotimi

    Dolphins can still win the League — Rotimi

    Substantive captain of Dolphins Sunday Rotimi believes the club can still win the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL).

    Rotimi said the target of the team initially was to win the league and the players believe it is still possible.

    “The task at hand is to win the league. We have been there before and we have done it before so I believe by God’s grace we will do it again,” Rotimi said.

    “We also know that anything short of that may not go down well with the sponsors of the club so the boys know they must continue to fight hard to amass points that will take us to the top.”

    Sunday Rotimi has played in goal 179 times since he joined Dolphins in 2004.

    He had a two-year absence in 2005 and 2006 when he played for Ironi Rishon Le Zion F.C.

    Rotimi was named captain of the side after Emah Godwin left to join his home town club, Akwa United at the end of the 2011/12 football season.

  • Federations Cup Dolphins hit Umuahia for Akwa Starlets

    Federations Cup Dolphins hit Umuahia for Akwa Starlets

    DOLPHINS FC arrived in Umuahia yesterday for today’s Federations Cup round of 32 encounter against National Division side, Akwa Starlets.

    Hassan Abubakar, the Chief Coach of the Garden City side, disclosed that the 2008 Challenge Cup champions are good to go against the Starlets.

    The Oron-based team were the giant-killers in the round of 64 when they defeated Kwara Utd 5-4 on penalties after full time score stood at 2-2 to book a date with the Eguma-led Dolphins.

    Abubakar said: “I can’t give you much on what to expect from the game but the Akwa Starlets ‘giant-killers’ tag doesn’t scare my players.

    “I can only assure you that they are beatable.”

     

  • Dolphins proud of Flying Eagles quartet

    Dolphins proud of Flying Eagles quartet

    General Manager of Dolphins Football Club, Dumbo Awanen says the club is proud of the contribution of four of their players towards the success of the Flying Eagles at the World Youth Championships.

    Dolphins have four players at the World Cup, all of whom have featured at the games.

    Awanen said Dolphins have once again shown the kind of quality they have by producing four players for the nation’s U-20 team.

    “The captain of the team, Jeleel Ajagun, already has three goals to his name and Chidi Osuchukwu has been immense on the wings for the team in the two games he has played.

    “Chizoba Amaefule featured in the first game against Portugal while Emem Eduok came on as a late substitute against Cuba,” Awanen said.

    “We sit back at home watching these games and we beat our chest and say once again we as a club are contributing to the success of the national team.

    “Just as we have given quality to the Eagles, we still have more than enough quality back at home in the team and that shows the character of our team.

    “We wish the Flying Eagles best of luck and believe they can go all the way at the FIFA World Youth Championships.”

  • Eguma: Dolphins will win the league in second round

    Eguma: Dolphins will win the league in second round

    Dolphins of Port Harcourt Manager, Stanley Eguma, has declared that the assuring words of the Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi that the players signing-on fees and other entitlements would be settled very soon would motivate his wards to target the Globacom Premier League title in the second round.

    The Port Harcourt side won the league two seasons ago but they had a shaky start to the current campaign after the players’ entitlements problem especially the signing-on fees for last and this seasons have not made the team to perform at optimum.

    Eguma in a telephone chat from Port Harcourt admitted that they struggled during the first stanza because of internal problem occasioned by the inability of the players to get their emolument for the past season till date.

    The former U23 coach however noted that the reassuring words from the number one citizen of Rivers State have calmed the players down and they are looking forward to the second stanza with the firm promise to make amends for their first stanza shortcomings.

    “The first stanza is over. It was mixed feelings for us at Dolphins. We had good and bad times as well. We should have done better than we did. We had adequate preparation but internal problem was our undoing. We had challenges with the welfare of our players. Their outstanding bills ranging from the signing-on fees and others have not been paid.

    “I am happy to inform you that the governor has spoken himself to see to its payment as soon as possible. I know he is a man of his words and that very soon the players would smile.

    “We hope to overcome our problems during the second stanza and strive to see how we can cover lost ground and still win the league. If we are unable to, we will be happy getting a continental ticket. I believe we have a good team and with no distractions the players can perform very well.

    “We are only going to ask few players to go to another club for low productivity and also buy only few in,” Eguma said.

     

  • Dolphins’ Festus appeals to Benin fans for support

    Dolphins’ Festus appeals to Benin fans for support

    Dolphins of Port Harcourt defender Austin Festus has called on Benin people to come all out to the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium to support his team ahead of their 2013 Federation Cup Round of 64 tie with NAF Rockets FC on Wednesday.

    One of Rivers representatives in this year’s Federation Cup, Dolphins overcame their initial blip in the Globacom Premier League to finish the first stanza in seventh position with 28 points from 19 games.

    Speaking ahead of the cup game in a telephone chat with SportingLife the mobile defender stated that Benin fans’ support would be crucial on Wednesday if Dolphins are to scale through to the next round.

    Festus noted that Dolphins have a rich history in the Federation Cup but he warned his team mates against playing to the gallery against their not too familiar opponent based on the surprise element the competition had witnessed in the past.

    ” We are playing against NAF FC in Benin City on Wednesday and we must raise our game and avoid the disaster of the previous year where we were eliminated by Plateau United at Katsina Ala. We couldn’t believe our eyes but we lost out to them.

    “This term we have learnt our lesson. We will need the support of the fans within and around Benin to come out and support Dolphins at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium on Wednesday,” Festus, a former Under 23 player told SportingLife.

    Dolphins are joint fifth alongside defunct Stationery Stores of Lagos. And BCC Lions of Gboko in the all time list of clubs with most wins in the competition with four victories each.

    The Port Harcourt side won it in 2001, 2004, 2006 and 2007. They beat El Kanemi Warriors 2-0 in 2001 and pipped Enugu Rangers 1-0 in 2004. They defeated Bendel Insurance and Enugu Rangers(again) both on penalties to cart away the cup in 2006 and 2007 respectively.

     

     

    They are behind 3SC with 8 titles, defunct Lagos Railways(7 titles) and Enugu Rangers(5 titles).

  • Dolphins hit Kastina-Ala today for Lobi Stars

    LOSING the Rivers State FA Cup to arch rivals Sharks has been discribed as unfortunate by Dolphins FC Chief Coach, Hassan Abubakar.

    The final which was decided on Wednesday saw the Blue Angels emerging winners after Thompson Stowe scored the only goal of the epic clash.

    In a phone chat, “The FA Cup final game was an important for us as we gave it all we hand but at the end I wouldn’t say its a set-back for us not been State champions rather its a wake of call for us to get back to winning ways and to win the Federation Cup for our fans come July at the Teslim Balogun Staduim, Lagos.”

    “We have been unbaten for the past 3 games, so with the Nigeria Professional Football League action returning with a mid-week fixtures, we just want to put the FA Cup loss behind and shift focus on the coming game against Lobi Stars who made headlines on match day 15 after they got a point from Gombe Utd after it had lost to Kwara Utd at home two weeks ago.

    “With all things been equal, we should hit Kastina-Ala today as its really a long journey from Port-Harcourt so we must leave early so as not to envisiage any difficulty on the road when you consider the bad state of our federal high-ways.

    “We also wouldn’t want fatigue to set into the squad as everyone knows we have a depleted team already with our key players on assignment with the various national teams, Flying Eagles and Beach Eagles, so we would want to be caught napping.”

    The former JUTH FC handler while also commenting on the tricky fixture handed Dolphins in the Federation Cup round of 62, informed that there was cause of alarm but insisted that NFA of FCT won’t be underrated.

    “At this championship, these teams are seen as the ‘giant-killers’, as they can make a mess of the top flight teams.

    “NAF is a team I know too well, even as I wouldn’t be needing any favour from their coach who happens to be a close friend, Dolphins will got all out for a win. Moreso, I expect a physical style of play from them, that we’ll contain.”