The Mobolaji Johnson Arena had a bubbly atmosphere from kickoff till the final whistle and beyond as Sporting Lagos took victory over southwest rivals, Remo Stars. The Ikenne visitors had won the first leg 2-1 at home, but were no match for their hosts as they suffered a heavy 4-1 defeat on sunday evening.
The game was alive from the get go and one could easily tell there was a lot at stake. In the third minute, Remo Stars had a setpiece at the edge of the opposition area. The Sporting defence repelled the cross and Godwin Odibo set on a mazy run from his own box straight into the Remo defence, only to be brought down right as he was about to pull the trigger. The resulting penalty from that foul was converted by Junior Lokosa in the fifth minute.
The first half saw another moment as Remo’s goalkeeper lost possesion to Pascal Durugbor, who slotted the ball into an empty net. Ismail Sodiq gave the visitors a lifeline in the 39th minute, a goal that put the scoreline at 2-1 at the halftime interval.
Sporting Lagos applied further pressure in the second half and got a third goal in the 48th minute, as Phillip Kehinde scored an acrobatic attempt from a loose header. Isaac Annor completed the rout on the hour mark as he took apart the opposition defence before chipping over Kayode Bankole in Remo’s goal for his team’s fourth.
Sporting Lagos now sit 12th on the log with 31 points from 24 games played, and they now prepare for an away game at Niger Tornadoes.
Remo Stars sit fifth with 39 points from 23 games played, and they will now host Enyimba on the 13th of March
