WONTRA, Golden Alchemy win as Lagos A+ Bluechip, Shoreline battle today

The 2020 GTB Lagos International Polo Tournament galloped off on an exciting note yesterday with Lagos Wontra bagging a 6-5 win over Lagos Almina Group, while Golden Alchemy outplayed Lagos Dania A+ 10-4 in Silver Cup encounters.

Wontra, formed by Charles Oluwole, Altaf Abubakar, Yemo Alakija and Aliyu Tijani, underlined their intentions from the start with Tijani scoring with an inside shot with barely 20 seconds inside the keenly-contested Stream A game, but none of the sides was able to hit target till the chukka elapsed.

Altaf made it 2-0 for Wontra as he scored in the opening seconds of the second chukka before two-goaler Tijani, who was the man of the match, scored again to make it 3-0 with a solo goal having picked the ball in the 60 yards.

Rabiu Mohammed scored Almina’s first goal but Tijani restored Wontra’s three-goal lead almost immediately converting a low shot.

However, Almina, which also featured Ahmadu Husaini, Omoruyi Giwa-Osagie and Yasin Amusan, did not give up as Mohammed scored a 40-yard to keep the game alive.

Giwa-Osagie’s goal kept the match on knife edge when he finished off a move orchestrated by team captain, Yasin Amusan, but Tijani again scored before the clock beeped for a 5-2 second chukka lead for Wontra.

Alakija’s goal, which was Wontra’s sixth, was sandwiched by Husaini and Mohammed’s goals and it proved to be the difference between the sides.

The second match of the day was contrasting to the preceding match as Alchemy outplayed Dania A+ to lay claims to the tag of one of the favourites for the Silver Cup.

Khalifa Adams was the stand out performer scoring a handful of Golden Alchemy’s goals, while Sadiq and Bilal Dantata, as well as Musadiq Tahir, also played crucial roles in securing the vital victory in Stream B.

Action-packed Matchday 2 today will see five matches in the Silver Cup, while an enthralling Open Cup tie is anticipated between Lagos A+ Bluechip and Lagos Shoreline to round off the day’s activities.