BY ABUSOLA TEMITOPE JOHNSON
NPFL/LaLiga champions Remo Stars and U15 teams of Oyo, Osun and Ekiti got their first three points on Matchday 1 of the maiden edition of the Taiwo Ogunjobi U-15 Memorial Cup.
The opening fixture of the one-week long soccer fiesta at the Sports Complex Ataoja School Of Science in Osogbo, lived up to its hype after Oyo U-15 got the better off their bitter rivals Lagos with a 2-1 scoreline.
It took Oyo State 16th minute to break the resilience of Lagos State defence as Maruf Umar made history as he became the first goal scorer of the when he scored from a stunning strike to give his team the lead.
With Oyo State going into the break of half-time with a comfortable lead, the onus was on Lagos State to find the equalizing goal in the 2nd half.
That was not to be; as two minutes into the 2nd half, Shittu Fawaz pounced on lose ball from a poor defending to double the lead for Oyo State.
Francis Ajibola then gave Lagos State a lifeline after he reduced the tally from a goalmouth scramble in the 51st minute.
In the opening fixtures of Group B, 10-man Team Osun defeated their Ondo State counterparts thanks to Jimoh Kamaldeen’s 49th minute strike.
Team Osun were reduced to 10 players after Ossai Alex picked his second booking of the match for a late tackle on Oluwole Kehinde, and was sent off.
In the Ogun Derby, Remo Stars claimed the bragging rights after they beat Ogun State U-15 team 2-0.
The young Sky Blue Stars scored in both halves, and took the lead through Wahab Hassan in the 23rd minute and missed a spot kick a minute after. Thirty minutes later, the NPFL/LaLiga champions then put the icing on the cake after Wahab Hassan scored the winner from close range.
In the last game of the Matchday One, Ekiti State pipped Kwara State in a keenly contested match, as Pelumi Agbegunde jabs home a well tailored cross to earn a valuable 3 points.
MatchDay One Results
Group A
Oyo State 2-1 Lagos State
Kwara State 0-1 Ekiti State
Group B
Osun State 1-0 Ondo State
Remo Stars 2-0 Ogun State
MatchDay 2 Fixtures (Thursday Aug 18)
Ondo State vs Remo Stars – 10:00 AM
Lagos State vs Kwara State – 11:00 AM
Ekiti State vs Oyo State -12:00 PM
Ogun State vs Osun State – 1:00 PM
VENUE: Sports Complex Ataoja School Of Science, Osogbo
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