Author: Nurudeen Obalola
By Korede James Super Eagles winger Moses Simon was on target for Nantes as they held Saint-Etienne to a 1-1 draw in Ligue 1 on Sunday. The Nigeria international now has five goals and five assists in 16 appearances in the French top flight this season. Moses gave Nantes the lead in the 14th minute but his side could not hold on as Augustine Boakye equalised four minutes from time. The result means Nantes are winless in their last five league games, recording three draws and two defeats. Nantes are 15th in the 18-team table, just four points clear of…
By Korede James Team Nigeria emerged as the overall best country at the just concluded ITF/CAT West and Central Africa Junior Tennis Championship in Lome, Togo. Nigeria finished in first position with 1120 points, Cameroon came second with 865 points while Benin Republic occupied the third spot with 610 points at the tourney which ended on Sunday. The country’s youngsters won three titles in the individual event which kicked off the competition before wrapping it up with brilliant performances in the team event, which ended on the final day. At the end of the team event, Nigeria won the boys…
By Korede James Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo has praised Super Eagles defender Ola Aina for his late goal-line clearance that helped Nottingham Forest secure a 3-2 win over Southampton. Forest continued their impressive run with a hard-fought victory against relegation-threatened Southampton in Sunday’s English Premier League fixture at the City Ground. Nuno’s side raced to a 3-0 first half lead thanks to goals from Elliot Anderson, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Chris Wood. But it became a nervy end to the game after Jan Bednarek (60th minute) and Super Eagles striker Paul Onuachu (91st minute) scored. Southampton almost drew level…
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has admitted that his team ‘maybe the worst’ in the 147-year history of the club. United’s 3-1 defeat by Brighton on Sunday was the fourth in their last five home English Premier League games. They have collected only 11 points in 11 league games since Amorim replaced was appointed in November, and United are 13th in the table — 10 points clear of the relegation zone but seven behind 10th-placed Fulham. The result was Manchester United’s sixth home Premier League defeat of the season, their most from their opening 12 home matches of a league…
By Korede James Nigeria stunned New Zealand to claim victory in their first-ever completed ICC Women’s U-19 World Cup clash on Monday. Making their ICC Women’s U-19 World Cup debut, the Nigerians were left to wait for an opportunity after their contest with Samoa on Saturday was abandoned due to the rain. Wet weather again threatened proceedings in Sarawak, but the African nation made the most of their chances once it was confirmed there would be play, albeit a reduced contest of 13 overs each. Nigeria scored 65-6 batting first, before producing an energetic display in the field that…
By Korede James Enyimba have been eliminated from this season’s CAF Confederation Cup after losing 3-1 to Zamalek in their final Group D match on Sunday night in Cairo. The People’s Elephant needed to win and for Al Masry to fail to beat Black Bulls Maputo in the group’s other fixture. Zamalek took the lead in the 29th minute through Mostafa Shalaby, while Seifeddine Jaziri made it 2-0 on 48 minutes. Ifeanyi Ihemekwele pulled a goal back for Enyimba in the 57th minute to give the two-time CAF Champions League winners some hope. However, any thoughts of a possible comeback…
By Korede James Super Eagles striker Cyriel Dessers netted a hat-trick and also provided an assist in Rangers’ 5-0 win against fifth-tier club Fraserburgh in the round of 32 of the Scottish Cup on Sunday. Clinton Nsiala and Ross McCausland were the other scorers for Rangers. Former Super Eagles defender Leon Balogun was not included in Rangers’ squad for the Cup tie. The 30-year-old Dessers also scored in Rangers’ 3-0 win against Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership in midweek. The Nigeria international gave Rangers the lead in the 27th minute before Nsiala made it 2-0 on 52 minutes. Dessers made…
By Korede James Manchester United could not build on their recent impressive results as they fell to a 3-1 English Premier League defeat to Brighton at Old Trafford on Sunday. Yankuba Minteh, Kaoru Mitoma and substitute Georginio Rutter struck for the visitors as they secured a third straight league win over Manchester United at Old Trafford. Minteh gave Brighton the lead just five minutes into the game but Bruno Fernandes drew United level on 23 minutes from the penalty spot. Joao Pedro thought he had restored Brighton’s lead on 53 minutes but his goal was disallowed by VAR. The disallowed…
The Australian Open men’s quarter-finals on Tuesday will be Novak Djokovic versus Carlos Alcaraz, and No. 2 Alexander Zverev versus No. 12 Tommy Paul. Djokovic, who has won 10 of his 24 Grand Slam titles at Melbourne Park, defeated No. 24 Jiri Lehecka 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4) on Sunday, while Alcaraz advanced when No. 15 Jack Draper quit because of a hip problem after two sets. Zverev, a two-time major runner-up, defeated No. 14 Ugo Humbert 6-1, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2; Paul, a semi-finalist in Australia in 2023, eliminated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-1, 6-1, 6-1. In women’s singles, Coco Gauff’s consecutive-set streak ended at…
Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo is confident that Super Eagles striker Taiwo Awoniyi will be back to his best form soon. Awoniyi has been working hard to get back to fitness and sharpness since missing a large part of pre-season. The Nigeria international scored his first goal of the campaign in the 3-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers earlier this month. The striker made the line-up for last weekend’s FA Cup before returning to the bench for Tuesday night’s 1-1 draw with his former club Liverpool. “He can absolutely get back (to that previous level). Yes, absolutely. Because he shows…