The Nation Newspaper

Tag: pre season

  • Akwa United pick up two pre-season wins

    Akwa United pick up two pre-season wins

    • Promise Keepers  almost set for ABS tie

    Akwa United have picked up two valuable pre-season friendly matches victory as they prepare for their 2016/17 NPFL Match Day One tie against ABS this weekend in Ilorin.

    The Promise Keepers defeated Spartans of Lagos 3-1 before adding another 1-0 away win against Calabar selected side in Calabar on Saturday to maintain their impressive pre-season form where they have only been beaten once by Abia Warriors.

    The Media Officer of the club, Mfon Patrick told SportingLife that the Uyo side still hopes to play a test game before their trip to Ilorin where they are scheduled to tackle the newly promoted premier league side.

    He said it is uncertain if they will be able to face a topflight side before the start of the season as the 2015 Federation Cup champions strive to dust off the unimpressive result of last season where they managed to escape relegation.

  • ABS FC post another big win in pre-season friendly

    ABS FC post another big win in pre-season friendly

    Taiye Ayinde came off the bench before NPFL side, Abubakar Bukola Saraki (ABS) could dump stubborn Black Stars of Lokoja 4-0 in a pre-season friendly played at the Confluence Stadium in Lokoja.

    The defence of the non-league Lokoja side was a hard nut for The Saraki Boys to crack as they defended with everything they had.

    All efforts by ABS to break the defence of the resilient Black Stars proved abortive in the first half, which ended 0-0.

    Coach Henry Makinwa made five changes in the second half, bringing in Adeshina Gata, Taiye and Kehinde Ayinde, Lukman Abdulhameed and Kehinde Idowu.

    Taiye Ayinde beat the offside trap to open scoring for ABS in the 75th minute.

    He got his second goal of the day two minutes later, when he again beat the offside trap of the opponents.

    Wasiu Alalade, who came in for Ossy Martins, put the game beyond the Lokoja outfit when he scored the third of the evening by lobbing the ball over the goalkeeper.

    Gata, who also came off the bench, scored the 14th goal for the team to seal a 4-0 victory for the newly promoted side.

  • Abia Warriors storm Asaba for pre-season

    Abia Warriors arrived in Asaba on Thursday to begin their final phase of their pre-season ahead commencement of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) season.

    The team,  who recently toured Calabar in the second phase of the preparation, will end the series with a journey to Asaba.

    “We have arrived in Asaba for a game against Delta Force,” a top official of Abia Warriors told Goal.

    “The training and matches we played in Calabar has helped us on what to expect from our opponents next season. Abia Warriors won’t be a pushover when the NPFL gets underway.”

  • Lobi head to Ijebu Ode for pre-season

    Lobi head to Ijebu Ode for pre-season

    Lobi Stars who are slated to resume for the new NPFL season on Saturday have picked Ijebu Ode as the venue for their two weeks training camp.

    The Team Manager of the club, Barnabas Imenger told SportingLife that the players and officials have been told to report to Makurdi to ease their travel arrangement to Ijebu-Ode.

    He said Lobi would play friendly matches with yet to be decided teams in Ijebu-Ode in preparation for the start of the new league season.

  • Pre Season: Onazi scores twice in Lazio’s 19-0 win against Auronzo

    Pre Season: Onazi scores twice in Lazio’s 19-0 win against Auronzo

    Nigeria’s Ogenyi Onazi was on target twice as Lazio spanked Italian fourth division side Auronzo 19-0 in a pre-season game.

    The midfielder’s strike in the 85th and 86th minute after coming on as a substitute contributed to his side’s massive win at the Rodolfo Zandegiacomo Stadium.

    The 23-year-old could depart Stadio Olimpico as Turkish champions Besiktas, Panathinaikos, West Ham, Everton and Sunderland are interested in securing his services.

    Onazi is expected to feature for the White and Blues when they file out against Brighton & Hove and Werder Bremen as they fine tune strategies ahead the new season.

     

  • Heartland set for two -week pre season

    Heartland set for two -week pre season

    Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) side, Heartland will embark on a two-week pre-season closed camp at Iribe, a suburb town in Rivers State.

    The pre season tour will commence from February 6  to 19 while the side are expected to train at its home turf, Dan Anyiam Stadium, Owerri on February 20 for their NPFL matchday 1 clash against Warri Wolves on February 21.

    Media officer of the club, Solomon Onuh said the two-week pre -season will be the height of the Owerri outfit’s intense but quiet preparations for the coming league season.

    “Heartland will go into two-week closed camp at Iribe, Rivers State from February 06 – 19 while the side will come back to Owerri on February 20 to finalise their training programmes for the season’s opening match against Warri Wolves the next day at the Dan Anyiam Stadium, Owerri.

    “The pre-season camp is to round off our intense but quiet preparations for the upcoming season.

    “We have a solid team for the season though we have gone ahead to further fortify the team with some quality fresh legs to make everything department competitive.

    “Right from the goalkeeping department, defence, midfield and attack every player must sweat  to keep a shirt in each match. The period of permanent shirt is  over in Heartland,” said Onuh to supersport.com.

  • Tornadoes storm llorin for pre-season

    Tornadoes storm llorin for pre-season

    Promoted side, Niger Tornadoes will storm llorin, Kwara State, today for a three-week pre-season camp prior to kick-off of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) later in the month.

    The Nigeria National League (NNL) Super Four champions are one of the promoted sides to the NPFL together with Plateau United, MFM FC and Ikorodu United.

    An official of the Minna outfit, George Daniya said the management committee led by Adamu Aliyu Mohammed approved the pre-season exercise aimed at putting the side on top form ahead of the commencement of football hostilities in the elite league.

    “We have assembled a formidable team. We want the players we retained after the Super 4 and the ones that we have pencilled down from top premier league teams to blend together, hence the need for the preseason exercise.

    “At the end of the pre-season camping we will release the final list of the players that will take part in the 2015/2016 NPFL action in the colours of Tornadoes as given to us by the coaches,” said Mohammed to supersport.com.

    Mohammed commended the coaching crew on the professionalism they used to handle the recruitment exercise, stressing that quality was needed to ensure the club will excel when the league commences.

    “Some years back we were a force to be reckoned with while playing in the elite league. Now that we have returned to the top flight we want to rekindle the performance we delivered in the years past.

    “We are not in the Premier League to add to the numbers but to compete favourably with other top clubs as Niger Tornadoes are a household name in the land,” said Mohammed.

    The team will depart Minna with a 35-man squad for the closed camp where the side will engage themselves in friendly matches with renowned professional football clubs.

     

  • Nwakali rejoins Man City for pre-season

    Nwakali rejoins Man City for pre-season

    Flying Eagles midfielder Chidiebere Nwakali has said he will rejoin Manchester City for pre-season training in the summer.

    The 18-year-old Nwakali has been shipped out on loan to Spanish La Liga side Malaga, but he told AfricanFootball.com he will return to his parent club for preparations for the new season.

    “I was part of City’s pre-season last season, but injury stopped me from being fully involved. However, I will again be part of the pre-season this summer,” he said.

    The smart-playing midfielder has been loaned out to Malaga for two and half seasons and said he hopes to make his first-team debut next season.

    “I hope to be playing for the first team of Malaga next season after I featured for the second team this outgoing season,” he said.

  • Ike Uche scores third pre-season goal

    Ike Uche scores third pre-season goal

    Thirty-year-oldIkechukwu Uche continued his great form in pre – season after he netted in the first half as Villarreal defeated Sassuolo 4-2 in a tune-up game on Thursday evening.

    The Nigeria international forward opened scoring for the Yellow Submarine in the 16th minute after an assist from Mexican Giovani Dos Santos.

    Espinosa, Vietto and Gerard Moreno were also on target for the Spanish team while the Italians managed to reduce the scoreline through Simone Missiroli and Simone Zaza.

    The exhibition game was the final of the 15th edition of Trofeo de la Cerámica Mahou Cinco Estrellas,which Villarreal won for the fifth consecutive time.

    Ike Uche also found the back of the net against Swansea City and Reus Deportiu, meaning he has scored in three of the five pre-season games played by Villarreal.

    The Camp El Madrigal outfit are away to FK Lokomotiv Astana on August 21 in the Europa League, three days before their meeting with Levante in the La Liga.

  • Obasi, Ogbeche score in pre-season warm-ups

    Obasi, Ogbeche score in pre-season warm-ups

    Nigeria strikers Chinedu Ogbuke Obasi and Bartholomew Ogbeche continued their impressive runs in front of goal for their respective clubs ahead of the new season in Europe.

    AfricanFootball.com reports thatObasi was on target in Schalke 04’s big win on Wednesday night. He opened scoring after just two minutes as the German Bundesliga side romped to an 11-1 win over Sportbund DJK Rosenhelm.

    Ogbeche also opened the scoring for Dutch club Cambuur in a 4-1 thrashing of Almere City.

    He scored the opening goal in the second minute, also.