Nigerian owned club, the Super Green Football Club (SGFC) of Maryland, yesterday in the United States’ American Soccer League (ASL) beat AFC Lancaster Lions 2-1 in their opening game of the season.
SGFC recently gained promotion to the ASL following their approval to feature in the third tier of the amateur league in the Washington-Maryland area.
The away tea, Lancaster Lions drew the first blood from the spot when an SGFC player committed a foul inside the box in the 29th minute of the first half.
SGFC thereafter mounted pressure on Lancaster’s defence with striker Donnie TBen leading the charge. In one of his mesmerizing dribble runs, TBen was fouled inside the box, but SGFC wasted the resultant penalty.
They eventually pulled one back through Emmanuel Oladejo, who finished off in style after receiving a pass from Sierra Leonean midfielder, Nyakeh Kamara in the 52nd minute.
The Nigerian side later got the winning goal through a free kick awarded following a foul on midfielder, Mohamed Jawara.
Obinna Iloka took a powerful free kick from the 18’’ yard box that beat Lancaster’s goalkeeper to give the Eagles the 2-1 victory in the 64th minutes.
An elated Coach Richard Opanuga in a chat with The Guardian yesterday expressed satisfaction with his team’s victory in their debut game of the ASL.
“Our game today (yesterday) was a good performance. I will say that I am satisfied with it. We will do better as the season progresses because we are still expecting the USSF to clear 13 players in order to beef up the team,” he said.
