Relegation Battle Begins For Heartland
Heartland football club of Owerri for the past 30 years remains alongside Rangers of Enugu the clubs that have not tested relegation, a record that is seriously threatened with the recent run of poor results and misfortunes the club has been experiencing.
About five Months ago before the commencement of the Nigerian Professional League NPFL, our darling club Heartland two time Federation cup champions were left without funds as the Government who are the sole sponsors of the team weren’t forth coming
However, the management of the team led by Chiaf Fan Nduboke continued in their ways to tinker the team but their efforts were not enough as they lost their first home league game against Nembe City while managing to beat their Gabonese opponents in the CAF Confederation cup first leg game in Owerri.
At that time, the Governor Owelle Rochas Okorocha made several solemn promises just like he had been doing to them since they won the first Fed. Cup after 18 years of trophy less run but nothing came from it apart from the meager monthly allocation they receive which is said to be about 8 million naira.
Fortunately or un-fortunately for the team they started having some good run in the league before some form of administrative lapses forced the team to be humiliated out of the African cup competition. The team still managed to maintain a good position in the league especially in the first stanza with empty stomach even toping the log.
The story is no longer the same, as heads have rolled points have been lost at home and away while the hope of getting back to the continental games have all faded away as the team is seriously steering relegation at its face.
In my last two editions, I asked a question after Ndubuisi what next? We must proffer solutions for these pertinent issues in other not to see one of the iconic teams in African football go on relegation, ‘tufiakwa’ God forbid.
Today Heartland is languishing at the 17th position on the log with 31 points from 25 games and will be facing Dolphins of Port Harcourt at the Dan Anyiam Stadium on Sunday in another closed door encounter.
We must continue to pray for the team especially now teams like Rangers, Sunshine Stars, Kano Pillars, Bayelsa United and 3SC are yet to come to town.
With 8 games to go in the 2013 NPFL season Heartland will need the entire fund it can get, all the support and all the luck it can to enable them sail out from the relegation zone.
IBC, Heartland FM Abandons RATAWU Game
The Radio Arts and Television Workers Union Football Competition final which was scheduled for Wednesday August 14 at the Government Collage, Owerri was abandoned as a result of irreconcilable issues between the two finalists.
IBC Orient TV and Radio FM football team were set to engage their counterpart from the Radio Nigeria, Heartland FM Station for the final contest of the RATAWU week football competition. On their way to the final, IBC defeated Arts and Culture 1 0 last Saturday while Heartland FM edged out Nigeria Television Authority 3 0 to also book a place in the final.
All was set for the epic final between the Federal and the State owned media stations until the kickoff time when the FRCN station started developing cold feet with the excuse that IBC were featuring ineligible players popularly known as Professionals which led to counter accusations from both sides.
Further investigations did reveal that IBC team having observed that their Heartland FM counterpart had gone ahead to make use of professionals in their game against NTA decided to also help themselves with some helping hands to avoid being disgraced like NTA.
The FRCN (Heartland FM) gaffer, Victor Onuoha insisted that his boys were pulling out from the encounter owing to the presence of the so called professionals adding that his team contains only two or three non-staff who you can call the professionals.
Meanwhile, IBC team captain Henry Echefu told Trumpeta that although the game is just a friendly but that pride and prestige is very much at stake and so no team would want to be humiliated especially in the final.
After many efforts by the organizers especially the chairman of RATAWU (Imo Chapter) Mr. Eddy Anyanwu to get the game going, Heartland FM team stood their ground insisting no show for the disappointed fans of both teams including dignitaries that turned out en mass to celebrate with RATAWU in the State.
MANDELA CHALLENGE
South Africa 0 2 Nigeria
INTERNATIONAL FRIENLIES
England 3 2 Scotland
Germany 3 3 Paraguay
Italy 1 2 Argentina
Belgium 0 0 France
Switzerland 1 0 Brazil
Ecuador 0 – 2 Spain
Portugal 1 -1 Holland
Bosnia H 3 4 USA
Sweden 4 3 Norway
Poland 3 2 Denmark
Tunisia 3 — 0 Congo
Gabon 1 — 1 Cape Verde
Egypt 3 — 0 Uganda
Zambia 1 — 1 Senegal
Turkey 2 2 Ghana
Algeria 2 — 2 Guinea
Mexico 4 — 1 Ivory Coast
Morocco 1 — 2 B/Faso
Libya 0 0 CAR
17/8/13
South Africa — B/Faso
Cameroon — DR Congo
18/8/13
Zambia — Zimbabwe
EPL WEE ONE GAMES 17/8/13
Liverpool — Stoke City @ 12:45
Arsenal — Aston Villa @ 3pm
Norwich — Everton “
Sunderland — Fulham “
West Brom — Southampton
West Ham — Cardiff
Swansea — Man UTD @ 5:30pm
18/8/13
Crystal Palace — Totteham
Chelsea — Hull City
19/8/13
Man City — Newcastle
SPANISH LA LIGA 17/8/13
Sociedad — Getafe
Valladollid — A/Bilbao
Valencia — Malaga
18/8/13
Barcelona — Levante
Osasuna — Granada
Real Madrid — Real Betis
Sevilla — Atletico Madrid
ITALIAN SUPER CUP
Juventus — Lazio
NPFL WEEK 26 GAMES
3SC — Bayelsa utd
ABC fc — Wikki
Sunshine — Kano Pillars
Sharks — Lobi Stars
Heartland — Dolphins
Rangers — Gombe Utd
Nasarawa — Kwara Utd
Enyimba — Kaduna Utd
Nembe City — Wolves
Akwa Utd — El Kanemi
