The Remo Stars International Stadium will be ignited with football fire crackers as the semi-finals of the Optima Energy Gold Cup 11th edition takes centre stage on Thursday.
With men separated from boys; with the completion of the group phase of pre-season tournament which recorded 35 goals, former champions Niger Tornadoes joined its Group B pair Shooting Stars, the duo of Beyond Limits and Ijebu United in the hunt for the ultimate prize.
The Ikon Allah who needed just a win on Matchday 3, sealed their spot as runner-up in Group B with 4points with a 3-2 win over FC Ebedei.
Tradesafe FC who gave a good account of themselves in the debut, missed a golden chance to qualify ahead of Tornadoes with 5points if they had beaten Shooting Stars 3-2 with a late penalty.
But Odeyemi Bolaji’s second attempt from the spot for Tradesafe FC; after his first was ruled out for players encroaching the box, was well saved by Shooting Stars young goalkeeper Gbolahan Babatunde.
The newly-promoted Nigeria National League team was left to rue the penalty miss, as the game ended 2-2 to finish third on the log with 3points from three draws.
In the semi-finals fixtures released by the organizers of the Optima Energy Gold Cup, Group A leaders Beyond Limits will host Niger Tornadoes at 9am while Shooting Stars will be hope to reach a third consecutive final of the off-season tourney if they go past Ijebu United in a derby.
