Defending champions Enyimba
International Football Club of Aba on Wednesday in Abuja defeated Sharks FC of Port Harcourt 2-0 in
the quarter-finals of the 2014 Federation Cup. In the match played at the FIFA Goal Project pitch,
the defending champions dominated the game from onset with Sharks FC creating little or no
chances at goal.

First half goals from Kingsley Sokari and Raphael Bussong were however all Enyimba needed to
defeat Sharks and advance to the semi-finals of the competition. Enyimba started brightly and could have taken the lead as early as in the 5th minute, but John Uche
failed to capitalise on a defensive error by Ezekiel Michael. Sokari was also thwarted by the Sharks
goalkeeper, Danladi Isah, two minutes later when he came face-to-face with him.

Sokari finally broke the deadlock in the 26th minute when he rifled home a low shot from outside the penalty box to make up for his earlier miss.
Ugwu Uwadiegwu then saw his shot from outside the area miss target narrowly in the 32nd minute as Enyimba continued to dominate the game. Cameroon national Bussong doubled the lead for the defending champions with a low shot when he went clear of Isah in the 37th minute. Sharks FC however had a chance to get on the
scoreboard in the 76th minute when the referee awarded a free-kick for a foul by Enyimba midfielder Emeka Nwanna. He was consequently shown a straight red card for the foul. But Christian Pyagbara failed to take his chance as he blasted the ball wide off target. They again came close in the 80th minute when Odinga Odinga’s powerful header from a corner-kick crashed against Enyimba’s post. Enyimba’s Head Coach, Kadiri Ikhana, told
newsmen after the match that his side deserved to win the game. He also praised his team’s ability to utilise their chances and defend until the end. “We are a team with pedigree and I am glad we have shown that today (Wednesday). “Even with a man down, the team still showed character and resilience,’’ Ikhana said.

Coach Gbenga Ogunbote of Sharks FC, on his part, said his team were unfortunate to lose the game,
contending that they were robbed by the match referee. “The officiating was really poor as the goals scored by Enyimba were illegitimate. “Anyway, we are now out of the competition and we will go back to the drawing board and plan for next season.’’ Ogunbote, however, admitted that his players made some errors which caused his team the game. “It is unfortunate that we had some careless moments in the game and consequently paid dearly for it. “But I am sure we wouldn’t have lost this way if things were normal. That is just the truth,’’ he said.
(NAN)

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