The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Kano Pillars

  • Pillars crash out of Champions League

    Pillars crash out of Champions League

    Nigeria champions Kano Pillars Saturday crashed out of this year’s CAF Champions League despite beating Morocco’s Moghreb Tetouan 2-1 at home.

    Pillars thus crashed out of the tournament 5-2 on aggregate having lost the first leg in Morocco 4-0.

    Poor finishing robbed Pillars of a more convincing win, while the Moroccan champions made the most of their chance.

    Moghreb Tetouan took the lead in the 33rd minute through Mouchine Iajour, who scored a hat-trick in the first encounter.

    However, Pillars drew level after 61 minutes through Tony Edjomareigwe.

    The home team scored again a minute from full time through Rabiu Ali, who dribbled his way into the box before he fired home.

    But it was too little, too late as Pillars then needed to score six other goals to advance to the second round of the competition.

    Pillars were also eliminated from the tournament last year in the preliminary round by AS Vita of DR Congo.

    Vita Club won the first leg 3-1, but lost 2-1 in Kano to the Nigerian club.

  • Injuries to key players responsible for Pillars’ exit

    Injuries to key players responsible for Pillars’ exit

    Kano Pillars’ striker, Adamu Mohammed has blamed injuries to top players and lack of proper blending of the new players to the Sai Masu Gida side as their problem in the CAF Champions League which later culminated in their early exit in the competition to Moghreb Tetouan of Morocco.

    The Kano side needed four unreplied goals in the second leg after suffering a crushing 4-0 defeat in Morocco but they shot themselves in the foot after they allowed their visitors to race into the lead through Hadaf Lajour in the 33rd minute.

    Speaking with SportingLife on telephone, Mohammed who was not registered for the competition because he completed his transfer after deadline for registration of players said it was unfortunate that Pillars had to go out in the first round.

    He said the players that represented the club in the yesterday tie gave their all but were undone because of injuries to six key players.

    “We wanted to qualify for the next round and from the way the players played they wanted to make it to the next round but injuries to lots of first team players and the fact that new players are yet to blend with the team.

    “We are going to bounce back from this but we are still pained that we had to go this early,” Mohammed told SportingLife.

    Apart from injury worries, Pillars still have Gambo Mohammed, Eneji Otekpa, Murtala Adamu yet to begin training because of the injury they sustained in an armed robbery attack recently.

  • Kano Pillars owe me N1.3m- Udoh

    Kano Pillars owe me N1.3m- Udoh

    Kano Pillars central defender, Kingsley Udoh  has expressed disappointment at the inability of Kano Pillars FC to facilitate his movement to Sunshine Stars Football Club of Akure while also owing him three months salary which amounts to N1.3m.

    The former Heartalnd player claimed in an interview with the SportingLife on Monday that all appeals to the club to ensure that he does not remain inactive had met a brick wall.

    He said: “The issue is all about Kano Pillars. I played  for the club last season, I played about twenty-eight games before leaving them. I left on the premise that they owed me for three months. The negotiation about my papers when I got there was not the way it went at the end of the season. I needed to leave them at the end of the season for Sunshine.

    “Presently, they are owing me N1.3m and that is three months salary. I signed one year contract with them. The one year salary is on enhanced salary after tax which is four hundred and fifty thousand naira monthly. But that is not the issue, the main issue is that they are refusing to sign my clearance papers which they are refusing to release to Sunshine Stars for me to start playing.

    “The league has started and they will be playing the third match now and they are not willing to comply. And that was not the negotiation I had with them when I got there. They said if I am leaving they are going to allow me to go.

    “The issue on ground is for them to release my papers; they gave me one million naira out of the four million naira from the money for my clearance. New players also got one million naira.

    “Though the government changed the board so the new ones don’t know how I came.  I am not dragging anything they have to release my papers,  but the management stated that the clearance is not valid, they need to enter fresh negotiation with Sunshine FC.”

    Meanwhile, efforts to clarify Udoh’s claims from the management of Kano Pillars proved abortive as the various officers spoken to claimed they were not in a good position to speak on Udoh’s allegations.

     

  • Ejomarigwe: Kano Pillars good are good to go

    Ejomarigwe: Kano Pillars good are good to go

    Kano Pillars winger Tony Ejomarigwe has revealed that the team have resumed training and are working well with the fit enough players for the Week 2 round of matches in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) this weekend.

    Ejomarigwe told www.footballlive.ng in a chat that though some players are still recovering, the fit ones have been through some sessions with the team psychologist and have all indicated their desire to play and carry on for the team.

    “Psychologically we were down but with the help of the psychologist and the coaches we were able to understand that we have no other option than to keep playing, because it’s our job, it’s what we’ve signed up for. So we have no option than to resume training and to start adapting to the present situation we find ourselves.

    “And with the absence of some players, we have to work extra hard because we have to fill in the gap created by the injured players and bring in other players also. We are actually going to do well, I think we are going to be fine,” Ejomarigwe enthused.

  • CAF moves Kano Pillars’ tie by one week

    CAF moves Kano Pillars’ tie by one week

     

    The Confederation of Africa Football(CAF) has obliged the request of Kano Pillars that their CAF Champions League first round, first leg tie against Moghreb Tétouan of Morocco be shifted and has now be slated for the weekend of March 20 to 22.

    Sai Masugida’s request came in the wake of the armed robbery attack on their players and officials last Thursday on the Abaji-Lokoja road on their way to honour a league match at Owerri.

    Pillars’ Media Officer, Idris Malikawa told SportingLife:” We are happy to inform you that CAF has graciously accepted our request for a shift to our game and it has been moved by a week. We will now play against Moghreb Tétouan in Morocco in the weekend of March 20 to 22. We are happy with this development.

    “The time change will enable our players to recover from the shock of the incident. Even though we won’t have our injured players for that match, we are glad that the shift will afford us more time to prepare. We got the news from the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF)’s Director of Competitions, Dr Mohammed Sanusi on Monday night after he alerted us of the news from CAF,” Malikawa told SportingLife.

    Pillars beat Al Malakia of South Sudan 5-0 on aggregate in the preliminary round before setting a date with the North Africans.

  • Kano Pillars play Accra Heart of Oaks Thursday

    Kano Pillars play Accra Heart of Oaks Thursday

    • Face Ghana U-23 team weekend

    League champions, Kano Pillars will play its   first friendly match on Thursday against Accra Heart of Oaks at the Lizzy Sports Centre, Accra as part of its one week training tour of Ghana.

    The Sai Masu Gida departed Lagos for Ghana on Monday as part of preparations for the CAF Champions League first leg clash against Al-Malakia FC of South Sudan.

    The club’s media officer Idris Malikawa in a telephone chat with SportingLife said the team arrived Accra on Monday  at 9pm and lodged at the Lizzy Sports Centre, Accra.

    The Lizzy Sports Centre is owned by the former Chelsea and France international Marcel Desailly.

    Malikawa said the match will kick off by 3pm Ghana time (4pm Nigerian time). He said the second match would be played against Ghana U-23 team at the weekend.

    The club’s image-maker also informed that the players and officials of the team will pay a courtesy visit to the Nigeria Ambassador in Ghana by 12pm Nigeria time.

    “The purpose of these matches is to get our players ready for the match against Al-Malakia FC. We hope at the end of the day we should have a solid team,” Malikawa told SportingLife.

    The team’s captain, Theophilus Afelokhai said he and his colleagues are satisfied with the weather condition in the city of Accra.

    “We love this environment, the accommodation, sporting facilities and security are well taken care of here. The weather is favourable too. We are going to give our best in  the matches we are going to play here and during the CAF Champions league campaign. We also thank the committee in charge of our continental assignment for giving us the best,” Afelokhai told SportingLife.

  • Kano Pillars pip Enyimba 1-0

    Kano Pillars pip Enyimba 1-0

    • Set for continental challenge

    Nigeria’s elite league defending Champion Kano Pillars is ready to take on the other clubs in Africa in the CAF’s Champions League, the Club’s Technical Adviser Okeh Emordi has assured.

    The veteran Coach who led Entimba FC to win the African best Club’s Trophy for Nigeria in 2004 showered praises on the Nigeria Football Federation for organising the Super Six for the teams representing Nigeria in the continental competitions.

    “I would say a big thank you to the NFF for organizing this competition for us that are campaigning in the African competitions.  The Super Four has helped me a lot to get the new players and old ones to blend well together.

    “I have in my tean young but talented players that are ready to learn and I have seen a remarkable improvement from my boys. The Enyimba boys played so well in today’s match and either side could have won. But I am happy that my team won”, Emordi disclosed.

  • Pillars underrated Flying Eagles, admits Afelokhai

    Pillars underrated Flying Eagles, admits Afelokhai

    Coach and captain of Glo Premier League  champions, Kano Pillars have admitted that they may have under-rated the Flying Eagles leading to the 2-1 defeat they suffered on Match Day 2 of the Glo League Super 6 tournament on Monday at the Abuja National Stadium.

    Goalkeeper, Theophillus Afelokhai was the first to reach the conclusion during the post-match conference but vowed that the next match against the National U-23 Olympic team won’t be approached lightly.

    “I think some of my team mates under-rated the Flying Eagles and that was what got us to lose the match”, he said, and added: “We will return for the next match with seriousness and play as though we are playing against the Super Eagles.”

    Coach Okey Emordi afterwards concurred with his skipper and defended their ball holding and compact play as the best approach to play against the fast-paced Flying Eagles.

    “We did not play well in the first half and it is possible as the captain said that they under rated their opponents…that is football for you, a single error causes grave consequences. However, in football, there is the element of entertainment but it is more important to be business-like to win your game. Our ball holding and compact play was the best response to the Flying Eagles who were faster and running around,” rationalised Emordi.

    But the Coach believes that despite the loss, Kano Pillars can still realise their ambition of winning the Super 6.

    “I admit that the tournament is not a must-win because we are still building this team for the Champions League, but we could still recover from that loss and win the tournament.”

    Pillars won their opening game 2-0 against Dolphins but succumbed to the junior Eagles on Monday to slip from the top to third place on the standing.

  • Kano Pillars maintain lead

    Kano Pillars maintain lead

    •Beat Akwa Utd 1-0

    Adamu Hassan scores goal no 11

    Kano Pillars continued their impressive run to the season with another 1-0 win over Akwa United in a Week 27 Glo Premier League on Sunday at the Kano Pillars stadium, Sabongari, Kano to remain top at the summit.

    Adamu Hassan scored the only goal of the encounter in the 44th minute to take his season’s goal tally to 11.

    The former Kwara United striker has been a revelation in the coach Okey Emordi-tutored side since he joined the Pyramid City side at the beginning of the season. Hassan scored the goal that gave Pillars a vital away point in the Week 26 1-1 draw against FC Taraba in Jalinjo last Wednesday.

    In a chat with SportingLife after the match, the club’s media officer, Idris Malikawa said the team is now focusing on their next game against Bayelsa United in Benin on Wednesday.

    Malikawa said his side will travel to Benin today ahead of Wednesday’s match.

    “All eyes are on Kano Pillars now. As I told you before the match, we are focused and determined for our third title aspiration. It was a good game. Akwa United gave us a good fight but our players showed champions stuff and got the victory. Our focus now is on  the Bayelsa United match. We want to go there and get something from the match. Wepraise the players for  a job well done and thank our fans for the support,” Malikawa told SportingLife.

  • Emordi assures of league title

    Emordi assures of league title

    Kano Pillars Technical Adviser Okey Emordi has said he is confident that the team’s aspiration to retain the league trophy is going to be achieved at the end of the season.

    The former Rangers manager expressed optimism after guarding his side to a 1-0 victory over Abia Warriors in the Week 25 Glo Premier League encounter at the Kano Pillars stadium on Saturday to maintain top position on the league table.

    “With what my boys are doing so far I don’t think we would be disappointed at the end of the season. From the way things are going we are having everything going on as planned,” Emordi told SportingLife.

    Emordi praised Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and the good people of Kano State for his support to the team.

    “The government’s support is the best motivation that is encouraging players whenever they are on the pitch.”