In the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) Match Day 19, MFM FC is sets to face Remo Stars FC on Sunday. The big question is, will it be the beginning of the revival for the team? The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Olukoya Boys have been on a not too impressive game run in recent times as they had to play a six-match winless streak.
The Olukoya Boys continued the unimpressive form in Match Day 16 when they lost 0-1 to Rangers FC at the Cathedral, before a hard fought 1-0 win over Rivers United at the Agege Stadium. The team was however able to sustain picking up draws away from home with their second draw away from home against Wikki Tourists, a match which ended 1-1.
Just before the MFM FC’s 1-0 win over Rivers United at the Agege Stadium in the Match Day 17 fixtures, the Olukoya Boys had played six winless matches which started from March 31. The Fidelis Ilechukwu-tutored Boys played 1-1 against high flying Enyimba FC of Aba, then lost to Kwara United 0-1. The team again played a stalemated 0-0 against last year’s league runners-up, Lobi Stars.
Before this, MFM FC had played 1-1 against Katsina United on Match Day 9 at the Muhammadu Dikko Stadium before the draw against the Tourists at the New Jos Stadium. Perhaps the most painful loss was the exit of MFM in the Lagos AITEO Cup where they crashed out in the hands of a less fancied non-league side, playing Box to Box FC in the quarter finals.
However, for a team in online betting that has stayed on the top of the abridged NPFL Group A log for nine weeks before the winless matches, they surely needed a revival to maintain their status in the NPFL. The Olukoya Boys will on Sunday have a date with Remo Stars for the Match Day 19 Southwest derby at the Agege Stadium.
On the booker’s record, MFM FC should not only be able to sustain its bragging rights in the southwest derby but also use it to start a renewal to winning ways. However, the team needs to play a full throttle game to dispatch the team they hold an ace against. On the NPFL Group A standings, Remo Stars is rooted on the last place (12th) with a paltry 17 points from 18 matches. They won 4, drew 5 and lost 9.
It is on record that the Sky Blue Stars have yet to defeat the Olukoya Boys in their four previous meetings. While the Ilechukwu Boys had earlier recorded their only away win in the 2018/2019 NPFL season against the out-of-favour Kennedy Boboye tutored side in their first meeting at the Oshogbo Township Stadium which ended 1-0.
MFM FC are however placed third on the log with 28 points from 18 matches with eight wins, four draws and six losses. Speaking on the impending match, MFM Assistant Coach, Alli Suleman Obinna told NAN that the team would go all out against the Sky-Blue Star team on Sunday.
The Rangers International FC Challenge
Recall that the Rangers International Football Club of Enugu has beaten MFM FC of Lagos 1-0 on Sunday to extend their lead in the 2018/2019 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) Group A to six points. The only goal of the match was scored by Pascal Seka in the 37th minute, with both teams missing several chances thereafter.
Ogunbote however noted that the league was still far from ending, adding that his team was going to take the remaining matches one after the other. “Getting the ticket to play on the continent next season is still our target and we are still on course as we are going to approach all our remaining games with determination,” he said.
Speaking after the match, Rangers’ coach Olugbenga Ogunbote praised his players for their resilience in the match. ”It was a tough match but we thank God we came out on top and it is a thing of honour that we were able to extend the lead,” he said.
Fidelis Ilechukwu, MFM FC’s coach, on his part expressed dismay at the outcome of the match, noting that they came for victory or a draw. He however acknowledged that the match lived up to its billing, noting that his players did well but were let down in the first 45 minutes by a single error.
”That is football. Sometime you lose, draw or win and it will not discourage us from fighting on. ”We want to reclaim the top position and we are going to keep fighting as we still have some matches to use to do something and get back on track,” Ilechukwu said.
“Rangers are not a small club, but we would have gotten something positive if not that we gave them a lot of respect in the first half. ”It is painful that we lost today’s match which we should have picked a point from. But so be it. He assured that his team would go back to the drawing board to ensure that they finished the league well and took part in the Super Six at the end of the season.
