Shooting Stars Football Club (3SC) of Ibadan on Thursday qualified for the final match of the 2024 Oyo State Federation Cup competition.
They beat Adeyemi FC of Ibadan 1-0 in the competition’s second semi-final match played at the Lekan Salami Stadium before a relatively sparse crowd.
3SC will now take on Ilaji FC who defeated Nigeria National League (NNL) side Crown FC of Ogbomoso 1-0 earlier in the other semi-final match.
Both sides will meet on Sunday at the same venue in the competition’s final match, a repeat of the 2023 edition of the competition.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that in Thursday’s match the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) side scored through Ayobami Junior in the 51st minute.
The midfielder lashed the ball in from about 20 metres out after latching on to a pullout from the left flank during a quick offensive blitz.
Adeyemi FC had been more offensive in the game and kept their foes on the back foot mostly.
But lack of experience meant they failed to make hay in their final third of the pitch.
3SC put their experience more into use, and were more dangerous when attacking in spite of struggling for possession with their lower league opponents.
But, after scoring in the second half, 3SC had more goal scoring chances to extend their lead but were wasteful, while Adeyemi FC continued to suffer from inexperience.
As 3SC seemed to have put their foot off the throttle, Adeyemi FC piled up the pressure in the game’s dying minutes.
They were close to drawing level on a number of occasions, but goalkeeper Gbolahan Babatunde’s saves denied them the opportunity to draw level and possibly take the game.(NAN)
