The head coach of the Surulere local government football team, Jamiu Mohmmed Isah has revealed secrets of how he was able to win the recent Governor’s Youth Cup in Lagos State.
The youthful tactician, fondly called Coach Jamiu, revealed to Opera News that the conquest was made possible through the assemblage of intelligent players, solid backing by the LGA administrators, and tactical acumen of the coaching crew.
He went on to thank the organizers, who staged the competition under the tag BOS U21 Youth Cup, for putting together an elaborate tournament that involved all local government areas and development councils in the state.
Isah and his wards, who also had a coach from Box-2-Box FC guiding them in the crew, first scaled through the local qualifiers, in which they beat Coker Aguda 2-1 and Itire Ikate 2-0.
They then scaled past the group stage with three straight victories at Campos Square, Lagos Island, where they beat Lagos Mainland 6-0, Lagos Island East 4-0, and Shomolu LGA 4-0.
The going then got tough from that point, as their last three matches ended in the lottery of penalties, the first of which came after a draw with Ikosi Isheri in the quarter-finals at Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere.
Then came to their semi-final victory over Lagos Island East, in a rematch of their last group match, and the S/L team barely scaled through 7-6 via penalties.
It was a similar story in the final at Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan, Lagos Island, where Governor Sanwo-Olu was in the large crowd that turned up to witness the game.
At the end of the pulsating encounter, Isah’s side beat Ifako Ijaye/Ojokoro 4-3 on penalties, after a 1-1 end to regulation time, and they went home with the giant silverine trophy at stake.
While basking in the euphoria of his side’s glory, Isah is quick to add accolades for some of his lads that stood among the lot in his team and the competition as a whole.
Leading the pack is the most valuable player, Fuad Ibrahim, who scored in the quarter-final and grand finale.
He was joined on the podium of personal glory by the highest goals scorer, Azeez Agbaje, and the winning captain, Toheeb Aliu.
Special mention also went out for Adio Lateef, the midfield maestro that Isah recalled created more scoring chances than any other player in the entire contest.
Isah, who is already attracting job offers from NPFL clubs, stated at length: “It’s a big privilege to lead the Surulere LGA team in the BOS U21 Youth Cup that was endorsed by His Excellency, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
“It was a good platform for me to express myself with my expertise and work with other technical crew and the players, to get the best out of everyone.
“We were ambitious from the start and we planned strategically. We stick together, we keep believing and we keep going with determination to conquer our opposition.
“We had a team that was self-tactical and our match statistics speak volumes for us.
“That we saw in nine matches, 18 goals for and conceded only three while winning all our games and creating more chances than any other team in the tournament.
“We thank the local organizing committee for their fantastic organization, as well as the special adviser on sports in Lagos State and to Governor Sanwo-Olu for empowering the youths and coaches with this tournament. Thank you. We are Surulere!”
