Shooting Stars Sports Club of Ibadan made it to a third consecutive semi-finals of the Optima Energy Gold Cup preseason tournament after they defeated former champions Niger Tornadoes 2-1 on Monday.
The FC Ebedei Stadium in Apele-Sagamu hosted the Matchday 2 titanic battle between the two Nigeria Premier Football League teams; however, Tornadoes would have savaged a point but will rue a late penalty miss in added time.
It took Shooting Stars five minutes to break Tornadoes compact backline, no thanks to Victor Ehibe making the most of an assist from his teammate, to nod home the first goal.
Less than two minutes after the goal, the Ikoh Allah responded with a long range efforts which goalkeeper, Anozie Chinedu parried to safety.
In the 10th minute, Tornadoes got penalty after a clumsy handball inside the 3SC box, and Tasiu Lawal made no mistake in converting from the spot kick to make it 1-1.
The Oluyole Warriors profited from a deflected pass to go in front again in the 40th minute, as Michael Enaruna Coolly tucked the ball at the bottom left corner of Tornadoes goalie to make it 2-1, and went into the break with the lead.
The second half was as entertaining as the first, as both teams left off from how they played but Tornadoes should have taken a point after they were awarded a penalty but Akintunde Azeez who was handed the task blasted his effort wide from the spot, as Shooting Stars earned a second win.
In the first Matchday 2 game of Group B, Tradesafe FC and FC Ebedei shared the spoils after a thrilling encounter.
Shooting Stars lead the log with six points, followed by Tradesafe FC on two points while FC Ebedei and Tornadoes have garnered a point each.
Credit: thenationonlineng.net
