Sporting Lagos confirmed their place in the semi-finals of the 13th edition of the Gold Cup Pre-Season Tournament with a game to spare, following a commanding 3–0 victory over 10-man Abakaliki FC on Sunday at the FC Ebedei Stadium, Apele-Sagamu.
The Lagos-based side, who have been in superb form since the start of the tournament, made their intentions clear early on, with Ibrahim Abdulganiyu opening the scoring in the 4th minute after a swift counterattack.
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Abakaliki FC’s hopes of mounting a comeback suffered a major blow in the 13th minute when Ufeanyi Anyanwu was shown a straight red card for a professional foul. Sporting Lagos wasted no time capitalizing on the numerical advantage, as Maleek Sanusi coolly slotted home the second goal just three minutes later.
Despite a brief spell of resistance from Abakaliki FC, goalkeeper Joseph Okonkwo ensured Sporting Lagos maintained their clean sheet with crucial saves before halftime.
Six minutes into the second half, Yusuf Abdullahi sealed the emphatic win with a well-placed low drive, extending Sporting Lagos’ unbeaten run in the competition to three games and taking them to nine points at the summit of Group A.
The result means Sporting Lagos are the first team to book a semi-final spot in this year’s edition of the prestigious pre-season tournament.
Meanwhile, in the other Group A fixture, Sunshine Stars bounced back from a slow start to defeat GreenLock FC 2–0. Substitute Gabriel Adepoju’s acrobatic effort opened the scoring at the hour mark, before Kehinde Oluwole wrapped up the victory eight minutes from time to hand the Akure Gunners their first win of the tournament.
