Sporting Lagos edged a step closer to first division football after an impressive 4 - 0 win over Smart City FC at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan on Wednesday afternoon.
The Lagos-based side went into the match as the top team in Group B2, but only on goal difference ahead of Ijebu FC – who also had an impressive season.
While Sporting Lagos locked horns with Smart City FC, Ijebu FC hosted bottom-place Joy Cometh FC, and in the first couple of minutes, Sporting Lagos showed their superiority in possession and chance creation.
Their dominance in the early exchanges was rewarded after Chisom Orji – who was man of the match on the night, opened scoring with a wonderful strike just before the half-hour mark.
Smart City FC thought they had equalized shortly afterwards, but the linesman raised her flag for offside.
The first-half ended with just the solitary goal, despite Sporting Lagos creating a number of good chances.
In the second-half, Smart City FC’s Ajani received a second yellow card, and hence a red and Sporting Lagos made the most of their numerical advantage. Shortly after Ajani was sent-off, Rivio made it 2 – 0 in favour of the host team, with a well-struck effort into the bottom right corner.
Saturday Okon and Clement sealed off the victory to the delight of the Sporting Lagos fans.
With the win over Smart City FC, Sporting Lagos will compete with seven other teams (EFCC, Katsina United, One Rocket, Kano Pillars, DMD, Abeokuta and Heartland) for a place in next season’s NPFL. Only four of these eight teams will qualify for the first division of Nigerian football.
