Sports

Lukman and Roman net as Mahanaim FC beat Assess FA 2-nil

Published

2 years ago

February 28, 2025

Hot Boys of Mahanaim FC continue to stay hot in the year after another hard fought victory over Assess FA at the FIFA Goal Project inside Package-B of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.

Lukman Adigun opened the scoring in the 25th minute of the match and was joined by Nambou Jean Roman-Emerite late in the second half as the Hot Boys claimed victory.

This victory in the first meeting with Assess FA extends their unbeaten run of nine straight matches since August 2024 when they lost to City FC by 3-1.

Coach Saheed Jimoh made whole some changes to the line up that defeated Sarkin Daji a fought night ago, yet, the result is similar, another 2-nil win over Assess FA.

Starting XI
David Adolphus-(Gk), Ramadan Yusuf (RB) ,Hamisu Salisu(LB), Awala Hamisu(DM) Nura Yahaya(LCB), Jesse Mokele(RCB), Monday Abdul(RW) Haruna Abdullahi(AM) Aliyu Imran(ST) Lukman Adigun(CDM), Gilbert Michael(LW)

     Reserves

Nambou Jean Roman Emerite(ST)
Ikoh Joseph Danjuma(CDM)
Ifechwuku James Chukwuchebe(LW)
Harry Dogmi(RW)
Khilifa Imam(CB)
Emmanuel Elijah(AM)
Samed Adejumo-(DM)
Christopher Edoh(GK)

The match started before 8am, under a cool weather, as the sun was just rising, which set the tone for a good game by both teams.

The Hot Boys created some early chances but couldn’t convert, including a 20th minute penalty miss by Haruna Abdullahi, who saw his effort saved by the goalkeeper as his low shot to the bottom right corner was well parried.

The miss gave the boys more impetus to press high and they were rewarded five minutes later when Lukman Adigun reacted quickest to a lose ball after a miss kick by the goalkeeper; following a press from Gilbert which pressured the goalkeeper to kick onto the path of Lukman who wasted no time directing his shot into the back of the net from 25 yards, to give the Hot Boys a deserved lead.

Assess tried to find an equaliser but their effort was in futility as Mahanaim led into halftime.

The second half was more intense, as both teams tried to score. Mahanaim continued to miss chances while Assess also found themselves inches away from scoring on several occasions. The tone of the game at that point made coach Saheed to send on Ikho Danjuma for Awala Hamisu, Ifechukwu James for Gilbert, Emmanuel Elijah for Lukman and Nambou Roman for Monday in other shore up things and find a security goal.

Moments later, the changes paid off as substitute Nambou Roman created a space after beating his marker, before sending a curling shot from outside the box, that beat the goalkeeper, into the back of the net. There was room for two more changes as Samed Adejumo replaced Haruna while Khalifa Imam also replaced Nura Yahaya.

Despite the victory, Coach Saheed Jimoh insist there is still alot of improvements expected from his team.

10th Match Unbeaten

Meanwhile, in another match at the team’s temporary home ground at Brown Check School, Chikakore, Kubwa, Harry Dogmi was the match winner as the Hot Boys took on Soccer Stars Football Academy- winning 1-0.

Harry was an unused sub in the match against Assess FA earlier in the day, however, that only fired him up to deliver victory for the team in the evening fixture. The win over Soccer Stars FA thus taking Mahanaim’s unbeaten run to 10 straight matches.

Share on Facebook

Sports

AFN COO, Dr Nneka Calls For Increased Investment In Grassroots Athletics, Sports Facilities

Published

3 hours ago

November 14, 2026

The Gleamer

By Joel Ajayi

The Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Chief Operating Officer, COO, Dr Nneka Ikem Anibeze has called on state governments and universities across the country to invest in athletics facilities and grassroots competitions to discover and nurture emerging talents.

Anibeze, who expressed delight at Nigeria’s achievement at the just concluded Youth Olympics where Nigeria won 3 Gold medal in athletic in Dakar, Senegal, said sustained investment in infrastructure, coaching and regular competitions would help the country build a strong pool of homegrown athletes capable of representing Nigeria successfully at international competitions.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Youth Olympic Games, she described Nigeria’s performance as encouraging and unprecedented, expressing satisfaction with the progress being recorded by young athletes.

The Senior Assistant Media & Publicity to the Honourable Minister, Federal Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy Anibeze particularly commended the National Sports Commission (NSC) for creating opportunities for athletes to participate in international competitions, noting that exposure to major championships was essential for their development.

According to her, taking athletes to competitions, including the youth championships in Oregon, has helped expose young talents to international standards and provided valuable experience for those travelling outside Nigeria for the first time.

Anibeze noted that although some athletes were still developing, their performances demonstrated the benefits of regular international exposure and the need to sustain the momentum.

She said: “I feel very happy that this is happening in our time. It is unprecedented, and I am particularly delighted that we are beginning to see the results of these efforts.

“We must also appreciate the National Sports Commission for making it possible for our athletes to be exposed and given more competitions to participate in.”

The AFN COO stressed the need for Nigeria to look beyond athletes based abroad and deliberately develop the enormous athletic potential within the country.

She maintained that Nigeria had abundant homegrown talents who could compete at the highest level if provided with the right opportunities, facilities and support systems.

Anibeze explained that the federation was working towards securing sponsorship for more competitions, including all-comers meets, grassroots championships and school sports programmes.

Also She stated that plans were underway to organise more intermediate and grassroots competitions in Lagos and other parts of the country, particularly next year, to expand the talent discovery network.

According to her, such competitions would provide opportunities for young athletes to demonstrate their abilities and progress through the national athletics development structure.

She identified inadequate sporting facilities as one of the major challenges confronting athletics development in Nigeria, urging state governors to construct standard running tracks and mini-stadia in their respective states.

“If we have more tracks in our communities, people will not have to wait until they come to Abuja before they can train and compete.

“You can imagine that the girl who just performed was fine-tuned within two or three weeks. If she had access to better facilities and a good coach, the sky would be her limit,” she said.

Anibeze also urged universities to prioritise sports infrastructure, citing the University of Oregon in the United States as an example of how educational institutions could contribute to the development of world-class athletes.

She said Nigerian universities could build athletics tracks to support students with sporting potential, adding that stronger university sports programmes would also improve the country’s representation at the World University Games.

Share on Facebook