DAY SIX: Smarts and Comrades FC claim top spots as Ultimate Stars late surge not enough to prevent Exceptional FC a place in last eight

By -
The final day of the group games in the HF WORLD's Exquisite Soccer Gala has come and gone as it was a day of delight for Smarts FC, Comrades FC and Exceptional FC as they all book their places in the final eight on the day, joining ANP FC, who already sealed qualification in their second game.



Quarter finals draw and route to the final. Photo Credits: Moore's Graphics.

The first game of the day was supposed to be played between Exceptional FC and Mariners FC but the later failed to show up after already being eliminated, thus a 3-0 win was awarded to their opponents, the Exceptional FC.

Also, Incredibles FC failed to honour their last group game, resulting in a 3-0 win for Hell Boys, who were hoping for a win for ANP FC against Comrades FC for them to be able to earn a place in the final eight.

The start to the game for ANP FC was encouraging and one that got Hell Boys dreaming as ANP FC took an early lead through Frank, after being played through a well weighted pass from the midfield. He beat the goalkeeper, sending his effort down the middle of the net.

However, the lead was short-lived as Lukaku restored parity for Comrades FC just before half time thanks to a awful display by the stand-in goalkeeper for ANP FC, who is an outfield player doubling as a goalkeeper in the absence of their goalkeeper.

It got worse for the Hassan led side as defender, Ayo put the ball in his own net from a Comrade FC corner kick to hand to 2-1 win for their opponents, who move to the summit of the group, with seven points, one more than ANP FC and an end to Hell Boys' hopes of reaching the last eight from group D.

The other group B game present a winner takes all contest between Smarts FC and Ultimate Stars. Despite having two glorious opportunities to take the lead which were spurned by their attackers dreadful finishing, Ultimate Stars fell two goals behind just before half time as Yinka and Dotman put Smarts FC 2-0 up, both goals assisted by P Boss.

Full Time results today. Photo Credits: Moore's Graphics.

They continue their dominant show in the second half and Yinka completed his brace by powering his shot past the goalkeeper after a good pass from Villa Cruz, who registered his second assist in the competition.

They had several other chances to go four up and the highlight of those came just after the hour mark as Yinka dribbled his way through, including the goalkeeper but lost his footing and ended up putting the ball out for just a goal kick.

The narrative of the game changed towards the end as Ultimate Stars scored twice in the space of seven minutes through Dhikrillah and Muhammad to ensure a nervy finish to the game for both Smarts FC and Exceptional FC.

However, Smarts FC held on for the win which move them to seven points while Exceptional FC come after them and Ultimate Stars exit the competition on four points, alongside Mariners FC who recorded no point.

The Expendables made the QF, finishing second in group B. Photo Credits: HF WORLD.

Hydro FC have also booked their place in the QF as the winner of group C and will meet ANP FC. Photo Credits: HF WORLD

Smarts FC finished top of group B and will gave the Expendables in the quarter finals. Photo Credits: HF WORLD.

ANP FC are the black sheep of the competition and comfortably  their place in the quarters, where they'll meet Hydro FC. Photo Credits: HF WORLD.

Quarter final draw

Smarts FC vs The Expendables
Comrades FC vs Javelin Boys
Faka United vs Exceptional FC
Hydro FC vs ANP FC

The quarter final games will be played on Saturday, 19th February at the Federal University of Agriculture Abeouta, FUNAAB sports center, Ogun state, Nigeria.

Author: Kehinde Hassan Afolabi

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ralf Rangnick proffered a permanent solution but United choose to make more casualties with Erik Ten Hag

By -
Image
Ralf Rangnick appeared to have unraveled the puzzle at Manchester United during his short stint as the club's interim manager but the hierarchy did not take heed to his priceless advice. Albeit the German did not enjoy the best of time in the helm of affairs in Old Trafford, Rangnick, who had proven to be more of a administrative minded man prior to his appointment at the club did left blueprints that could have healed the club completely. Looking back and you'll realize it could have been more worth it had speculations of him becoming the club's Director after leaving the Coaching role come to pass. Even in his early days as a professional football coach, Rangnick did not have a reputation of thriving when the stake is high but he flourishes more in an environment that gives him the avenue to build from scratch. The notion was proven truth during his time at Stuttgart, Hannover and even Schalke, where he helped all these teams finesse nightmares into glamour. His appointme
Read more

Doping in sports and the popular culprits in football

By -
Image
Doping in sports is a huge crime as it damages its credibility, and athletes are viewed to have committed an offense when they test positive for illegal performance-enhancing drugs (PED). What is doping ? According to Merriam Webster defines doping as the use of a substance (such as an anabolic steroid or erythropoietin) or technique (such as blood doping) to illegally improve athletic performance. In sports, such action is regarded as cheat, and grave consequences always come with it. Not only that, but on the players' part and their safety, as in the long run, such substances have a long-lasting side effect on the health of the players. Why do athletes dope (take illegal performance-enhancing drugs (PED)) ? There are several reasons take illegal performance-enhancing drugs, and it also depends on the type of sports the athletes in question do. The majority of the reasons is to boost performance. Athletes are also tempted when injured and do not have enough time to recover before
Read more

A sign of what is to come but no excuse for Chelsea's late capitulation in the London derby

By -
Image
Chelsea ended a run of three straight home defeats to Arsenal in an enthralling London derby match in the Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening. While many will see it as a positive omen for the host, which is rightly so, it was very poor game management by both the players and the manager to allow the visitors snatch a point later on the night. Arsenal was there for the taking. It was the worst display by Mikel Arteta's side in recent years and despite having a two goal cushion, Mauricio Pochettino's side were unable to see out the win from a very comfortable position. Cole Palmer and Mykaylo Mudryk continue to show signs of finally settling into their rhythm under Mauricio Pochettino, much to the delight of the home support as the Blues were all over their rival from the North for the first 70 minutes in the Bridge. Both players also scored in either half, with Mykaylo Mudryk scoring his first ever Chelsea goal in the Stamford Bridge with a wonderful cross-cum-shot, which caugh
Read more