The head coach of Remo Stars Football Club, Daniel Ogunmodede, congratulated Sporting Lagos for winning the maiden edition of the Naija Super Eight tournament on Sunday.
New kids on the block, Sporting Lagos, crowned their fairy-tale run in the Naija Super Eight tournament with the ultimate prize after beating Remo Stars 4-2 via a penalty shoot-out.
In the spirit of sportsmanship, Ogunmodede congratulated the winners and was full of praise for his team even though they lost.
“What is football without the fans? What are coaches without the players? My profound gratitude to my Remo Stars family and everyone who ensured that the #NaijaSuper8final turned out to be a beautiful memory and Congratulations to Sporting Lagos for emerging winners,” Ogunmodede tweeted.
He said that Remo Stars are getting set for the bigger prize ahead – the CAF Champions League – the primary focus as he looks forward to seeing the club’s supporters soon on the pitch side.
The match between Sporting Lagos and Remo Stars ended in a 1-1 draw in regular time. The teams went straight to the penalty shootout, where the Lagos boys, newly promoted to the Nigerian Premier Football League (NPFL), proved to be better marksmen from the spot.
Sporting Lagos took the lead in the 54th and looked as if they were heading to their first title in their second year in Nigerian football, but Remo Stars equalised through Adams Olamilekan with less than five minutes to time.
Before the equalizer, Remo Stars had what looked like a clean goal by Olamilekan inexplicably chalked off by the referee, prompting a near riotous situation, which was eventually brought under control by the organisers.
With no further goals after the eight minute added time, the teams went for the penalty lottery to decide the winner of the competition.
Sporting Lagos scored four of their kicks, while Remo Stars could only net two to hand the trophy to the Lagos boys who apart from emerging champions also won the N25 million prize money.
