Sporting Lagos confirmed their place within the semi-finals of the thirteenth version of the Gold Cup Pre-Season Event with a recreation to spare, following a commanding 3–0 victory over 10-man Abakaliki FC on Sunday on the FC Ebedei Stadium, Apele-Sagamu.
The Lagos-based aspect, who’ve been in very good type for the reason that begin of the match, made their intentions clear early on, with Ibrahim Abdulganiyu opening the scoring within the 4th minute after a swift counterattack.
Abakaliki FC’s hopes of mounting a comeback suffered a serious blow within the thirteenth minute when Ufeanyi Anyanwu was proven a straight purple card for knowledgeable foul. Sporting Lagos wasted no time capitalizing on the numerical benefit, as Maleek Sanusi coolly slotted house the second aim simply three minutes later.
Regardless of a quick spell of resistance from Abakaliki FC, goalkeeper Joseph Okonkwo ensured Sporting Lagos maintained their clear sheet with essential saves earlier than halftime.
Six minutes into the second half, Yusuf Abdullahi sealed the emphatic win with a well-placed low drive, extending Sporting Lagos’ unbeaten run within the competitors to 3 video games and taking them to 9 factors on the summit of Group A.
The consequence means Sporting Lagos are the primary staff to ebook a semi-final spot on this yr’s version of the celebrated pre-season match.
In the meantime, within the different Group A fixture, Sunshine Stars bounced again from a gradual begin to defeat GreenLock FC 2–0. Substitute Gabriel Adepoju’s acrobatic effort opened the scoring on the hour mark, earlier than Kehinde Oluwole wrapped up the victory eight minutes from time handy the Akure Gunners their first win of the match.
