Rangers fishing for points in Yenagoa

Rangers FC of Enugu will tomorrow seek to claim all the three points on offer as they engage the Ocean Boys in a week seven encounter of the Globacom Premier League.

The match, taking place at the Yenagoa Township Stadium, will see the coach Alphonsus Dike-coached Enugu lads looking to continue their run of luck after their 1-0 victory over league defending champions, Bayelsa United. Ocean boys, who are making a return to Yenagoa after a long absence having been playing at Oghara since the season began, also need a win to consolidate on its position on the league table.

Fresh from their 1-0 defeat of Lobi Stars, courtesy of George Amakiri's 7th minute goal, which ended the Markurdi side's unbeaten run, Ocean boys will be playing for the first time under a new coach, former Super Eagles winger, Emmanuel Amuneke.

Tomorrow, Amuneke and his side will aim to stop Rangers in their tracks and hopefully move up from the seventh position they currently occupy on the table. Ocean Boys' confidence would be boosted by the knowledge that Rangers' two visits to their den have ended in defeat for the Enugu team. The last time Rangers pulled off victory away to the Yenagoa boys was during the 2006/07 season, when they ran away with a 2-1 victory.

Battle of the coaches

Wikki Tourist/ Sharks FC clash on Saturday is going to be a clash of two embattled coaches. Ladan Bosso was given a four match ultimatum by the Wikki management to turn the fortunes of the team around, a job he seems to have started when he got a decent result away to Zamfara United in the midweek. For Kadiri Ikhana, this is not the best of time with two points from four matches, the dream of Sharks as title contender is gradually dimming, and with a 2-3 home loss to Enyimba in the mid week, the job of Ikhana is shaky, and he surely knows his veteran striker Victor Ezeji must be at his striking best in Bauchi for him to still have a job to go to.

Currently, Sharks FC occupy an unfamiliar position as the last team on the league table, though with two matches at hand, and travelling to Bauchi where a nil all draw was the best result they've got in three meetings, Bosso is definitely looking to add to their woes, and not hand over a gift to Sharks FC.

Tornado gate crashes Abeokuta

Despite having one match at hand, Niger Tornadoes FC is tied on ten points with Rangers on second place, and will this weekend be travelling to Abeokuta to meet Gateway FC, which is undoubtedly enjoying the best start of their premier league season, gathering 8 points in five matches. After the goaless draw the OGD Boys got in Kaduna on Wednesday against Ranchers Bees, the Ogun state side are feeling they can get something out of the season.

Even though Loveday Omoruyi, the Gateway chief coach said they are keeping their feet on the ground, and not letting the boys be carried away by the good result they are posting, it will be unlikely if Godwin Uwa's return to Abeokuta with Niger Tornadoes will fetch the Minna side the result they want. "We are aware we started well, but we are keeping our heads down...the plan is to win all our home matches, and get some draws and wins on the road, I think it's working," Omoruyi said after his team's recent performances.

Out of the two previous away matches this season, Tornadoes has won one against Gombe and lost another to Rangers of Enugu, so irrespective of Gateway's form, Tornadoes might just be too much for them to trample on.

Will Dolphins swim?

Dolphins of Port Harcourt, just like its city rival Sharks FC, is having a rough patch at the moment, with just a win from six matches. The newly promoted team is finding life in the top league difficult, with six points in six matches and 15th on the league table.

If nothing is done to stop the steep this weekend against fellow strugglers in Port Harcourt, they just might find themselves back in the lower rung of the league, with Dolphin never having defeated Gombe United before, they have all it takes to do it tomorrow.

Gombe United has only amassed a total of four points, and look an early candidate for relegation, though the 2-0 win they had against CAF African Champions League semi finalist Kano Pillars, might be the needed turn around needed by the northern team to get themselves back on track. If statistics and history are anything to go by, at least a draw is on the card; in four meetings Gombe had won two, drawn two, the drawn matches were in Port Harcourt.

Return of Sajh

CAF African Champions League semi finalist, Kano Pillars FC have to recover fast from their slump quickly if they are to be amongst the title contenders. To this end the team management recalled coach Ivo Sajh, who was suspended in October for what the club management termed as "unguarded utterances". He will take charge of the team against northern rival Ranchers Bees of Kaduna.

Kano pillars, currently 10th on the table with 7 points despite having two matches at hand, are looking to return to the continent as quickly as possible.