Tag: Wolves

Warri Wolves continue their charge to become the first Nigerian club to win the CAF Confederation Cup title on Sunday and the opposition in the second round comes in the shape of four-time Tunisian champions, Club Athletique Bizertin.

Wolves will be looking to get a favourable result at the Warri City stadium on Sunday when the first leg of the second round contest is decided to put themselves within striking distance in the return leg.

Head coach of Wolves, Paul Aigbogun is expecting a difficult game against the Tunisians.

“We have prepared ourselves psychologically and physically for the game. We are just waiting for Sunday,” Aigbogun told supersport.com.

Bizertin have won the two games they have played so far in this year’s competition dispatching Angolan club, Desportivo da Huíla 3-0 on aggregate in the first round and Aigbogun revealed the tactic the Tunisians will adopt on Sunday remains shrouded in mystery.

“Ordinarily, you expect the visiting team to sit back and defend in the first leg but football is usually a “spur of the moment thing.”

“If they realise that they can actually win the game here (in Warri), there will be no point sitting back to defend.

“You can have a plan which can go right out of the window as soon as the game starts but I do believe they will come here with a conservative approach. We have studied them but you can never know everything about your opponents.

“We are prepared though and I am confident we will get a good result,” he said.

Coach Paul Aigbogun has said Warri Wolves will cope even in the absence of stars like Azubuike Egwuekwe and Ogehenkaro Etebor, who are set to quit the club.

Club skipper Egwuekwe has revealed he is headed to Italy, while Etebor is also linked with a foreign club.

However, Wolves re-appointed coach Aigbogun has maintained he expects the club to compete in both the league and the 2014 CAF Confederation Cup.

He said he does not believe a player could cause a vacuum in his team.

“Egwuekwe and Etebor are good players. We will do well without them if they get European deals, because my philosophy is that there is no vacuum in a football team that can be created with a player,” Aigbogun said.

“I was happy Wolves lost the Federation Cup last season to Enyimba, where I was last season. They had a decent team last season and that match could have gone either way.

“All I need do now is to enhance the team slightly for the new season.”

He added: “The team were unlucky to have crashed out early in the Confederation Cup the last time, but I believe we will do better this time because we have experience now.”

Wolves are drawn bye in the second-tier continental competition.

A money lender is hot on the chase of several Warri Wolves players after they failed to pay up their loans.

A source close to the money lender, who is simply called Mr. Peter, told MTNFootball.com that Peter who is based on Ekpan Road in Warri, is angry as the players have not fulfilled their promise to pay up their debts.

“My friend Peter is not happy with a lot of Warri Wolves players who borrowed money from him and have not paid back as promised, their excuse is that they have not been paid salaries and sign-on fees. They owe him over a million Naira,” the source told MTNFootball.com.

A player of Warri Wolves revealed to MTNFootball.com they are owed two months’ salary and a balance of their sign-on fees.

“It is true some of us are owing and have borrowed money from money lenders and can’t pay back because we have not been paid two months’ salary and 55% of our sign-on fees,” the player informed.

Nigeria Professional football League (NPFL) club, Warri Wolves have reacted angrily to the decision of the disciplinary committee of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to reverse the recent verdicts passed by the League Management Company (LMC) on various contentious issues in the league.

Wolves say they will appeal against the decision which they described as unfair.

On Thursday, the NFF’s disciplinary committee ruled that Kwara United/Warri Wolves game be replayed in Abuja on Sunday, September 29 while United were fined N5 million (about $30,864) for “ineffective security” while Wolves were hit with a N3 million (about $18,519) fine for “failing to resume play” during the contest.

Wolves have now responded officially to the ruling insisting that the “unfair decision must be upturned.”

Wolves supremo and Chairman of the Delta Football Association, Amaju Pinnick exclusively told supersport.com that fairness was not observed during the hearing.

“We (members of the Delta State Football Association) feel that the disciplinary committee of the NFF was not fair in their decision on Warri Wolves, and as such we have paid the mandatory protest fee to the appeals committee of the NFF, so as to get justice,” he said.

Pinnick also frowned at the “way and manner the DFA General Secretary Friday Onothoja was sent out of the sitting of the disciplinary committee, without regards to the fact that he was representing the state on an issue he was mandated to do.”

He concluded by declaring that the DFA would follow due process in their attempt to gain justice. The NFF’s disciplinary committee also ruled that three points and three goals be awarded to Sunshine Stars following their botched NPFL game against 3SC earlier this month.

3SC’s Gbolahan Salami was also banned for four matches and fined N100.000 (about $617) for “inciting fans” at the ill-fated game.

Sunshine FC were also not spared as the hammer of the NFF’s disciplinary committee also fell on the club in the shape of a N350,000 (about $2,160) for “disrupting 3SC’s video recording of the abandoned game.”

The NFF’s disciplinary committee also ruled that three points and three goals be awarded to Enyimba following their ill fated NPFL game against Kano Pillars in Kano.

The Executive Chairman of the Delta State Sports Commission, Mr Pinnick Amaju has promised to give the sum of 1 million Naira for every goal scored by Warri Wolves in today’s FA Cup final with Enyimba and the players will also return to Warri by flight.

The amiable Sports administrator said he is doing this to motivate the players as usual and urged them to bring the Cup to Delta State.

Amaju who doubles as the Delta Football Association Chairman said the Government will surely show appreciation if they can conquer the Aba Millionaires.

According to him, there is nothing so special in the Aba team and prayed that the God that has made it possible for them to get to this stage will help them in their quest to get the trophy.

“I can tell you that the players are fully motivated and the Executive Chairman of the State Sports Commission, Pinnick Amaju has promised them 1 million Naira for every goal scored and they will also go back by flight.

“He has actually done well and I know that Amaju will do more if they win. The ball is in their hands to deliver,” said an elated Media Officer of the Club, Moses Etu.

Wolves and Enyimba have played against themselves twice this season and the result in Warri as well as in Aba was goalless thus meaning Lagos will offer a neutral ground where both teams would settle scores finally.