Oluwashina William, the goalkeeper and captain of Diadem Stallion FC talks about the grueling match of the ongoing 1XBet Community Cup that ended in a penalty shootout with Diadem Stallion FC emerging victorious over 36 Lions FC, securing their place in the quarter-finals.
The match, held at the Legacy pitch of the National stadium Surulere, ended 0-0 in full time and went into penalties, where Diadem Stallion FC clinched a 5-4 win.
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In a post-match interview with Sports247, Oluwashina William, shared his thoughts on the intense moment when the match went into penalties.
“I was so confident, I knew we were going to win because I trust my boys. They don’t miss penalties anyhow, and I knew I was going to save one.
If worse comes to worst, I will save one, and I know my teammates won’t lose any. So that’s exactly what happened. I saved one, and we scored our five penalties,” William said.
When asked if this was a common occurrence for the team, William explained, “That’s not what we plan to do in every game because today, the guys were really, really tired.
We had a very crucial semi-final match yesterday around Sango Ota, and we won that match, so everybody was tired.
I actually said to them, what we can do today is just to try not to concede a goal. Let’s go to penalties, I’ll save one, just score five. And that’s what happened in the game.”
William also spoke highly of their opponents, 36 Lions FC. “36 Lions? Who will say he or she doesn’t know 36 Lions in Lagos state? They are a very, very good side.
And when you talk about name, I think they are there more than us because 36 Lions is not a small team at all. So, I thank God that we were able to defeat them.
Like my coach always says, once you get to the pitch, don’t honour your opponent but respect them. And that was exactly what we did today. We respected them but we did not honour them.”
Looking ahead to the quarter-finals, William confidently stated, “Expect us in the final. Just expect us in the final. That’s what I can tell you.”
Diadem Stallion FC’s victory has set high expectations for their performance in the upcoming matches, with fans eagerly anticipating their journey to the finals.
