Dakkada U-15s and their counterparts from Enyimba shared the spoils at the end of an enthralling opening day fixture in Group B of 2020/2021 NPFL/La Liga Promises Championship, Thursday.
Dakkada began proceedings on the front-foot and were camped in the opposition half for large parts of the first period but were guilty of fluffing a plethora of goalscoring chances.
Their dominance eventually bore fruits in the twenty-eighth minute when Emmanuel David reached at the end of a low cross from the left by Idongesit Edet to finish off from within five yards in between goalkeeper and defender shortly before the referee called time on the first half.
Idongesit should have increased Dakkada’s buffer but he went for a square pass instead of shooting on a target with an empty goal staring him in the face after intercepting a poor clearance by Enyimba goalkeeper just after the restart.
Idongesit continued to terrorize the opposition defense and once again came close in the fifty-third minute when he dashed past his marker and into the box before unleashing a left-footed pile-driver which struck the upright leaving the goalkeeper statuesque.
With thirty minutes allotted for each half, time was of the essence for Enyimba whose triple substitution just before the resumption of the second half injected some verve into their attack.
The players and officials of Dakkada were left furious after the referee awarded a late freekick to Enyimba for what was, according to video replays, a clean clearance by Emmanuel Effiong without any iota of contact with his opponent. Enyimba then made the most of the resultant dead ball when Enekwa Chidiuto benefitted from a defensive melee, following a hesitancy by Dakkada defense to clear their lines, to tuck home from close range.
Dakkada will square up against Lobi Stars while Enyimba face Kano Pillars on matchday two, this Saturday.
The annual championship, which is a product of the five-year partnership of the League Management Company (LMC) which organizes the NPFL and the Spanish League Board (LFP) which organizes the La Liga, is taking place in the coal city of Enugu with the U-15s of sixteen of NPFL’s twenty clubs in participation. Shortly before the commencement of the opening day affairs, the announcement was made of the inadvertent withdrawal of the quartet of Sunshine Stars, FC Ifeanyi Ubah, Wikki Tourists, and Nasarawa United for varying reasons.
