Some soccer fans do not see any big deal in Home and Away matches. A team easily wins at home and badly loses away. It has been that way for virtually all matches of the CAF Champions League.
So, when Akwa United lost 1-2 in its own back yard to visiting Hawks of The Gambia in Uyo, no one gave any chance to the team in the return leg in far away Banjul. But Akwa United surprised everyone, including themselves, by getting to Banjul on Wednesday not only to score two un-replied goals but also displaying great soccer prowess.
From the blast of the whistle, the Nigerian side showed that it had come to The Gambia for real business. From their faces one could see that the only thing the Akwa United players had in mind was goals. Their search for goals forced their opponents to commit a penalty in the 30th minute. Unfortunately, they failed to convert it to their first goal.
Nevertheless, the Nigerians did not relent in their attacking football. The campaign for goals paid off towards the end of the first half. The home crowd, which ought to have seen it coming, was stunned. But what they could not have dreamt about occurred two minutes into the second half. Akwa United, which found it difficult to score their second home at home, two weeks earlier, hit the net for the second time in Banjul making it 2-0, thereby staying ahead of Hawks on goals aggregate.
Akwa United scored a third goal in the 74th minute but the referee ruled it offside. It was then that the home crowd and indeed everyone watching the match knew that the Gambians had lost out. There was no more force in the boys. Wednesday’s victory ensured Akwa United qualified for the second round on a 3-2 aggregate score.
It was also a good day for Nigerian football as the two teams in the CAF Champions League qualified for the second round. Nigerian champions, Plateau United, moved to the next round by defeating Eding Sport of Cameroun in Yaounde to qualify on a 4-0 aggregate.
MFM of Lagos edged out Real Bamako of Mali by 1-0 at the Agege Stadium in Lagos to qualify on aggregate score of 2-1.
