Ikorodu City Football Club has proved that their rapid rise from the Nigeria National League to the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) within two years of existence wasn’t a fluke as they beat 116-year-old Sudanese giants, Al–Merrikh SC on Friday, July 26, in the ongoing Value Jet Pre-season tournament in Ikenne, Ogun state. When Ikorodu City started the tournament with a draw against Remo Stars B team, most football enthusiasts who are following the competition thought they would be a piece of cake against Al–Merrikh SC, who have won the Sudanese League 19 times. But that wasn’t the case, as Ikorodu gave the visiting team a match to remember.
From the first minute of the encounter, the players played like it was more than a pre-season tournament as both sides executed the match with intense pressure, and the constant protest against the referee’s decisions from the Sudanese bench added more fire to it. The intensity of the game was a result of the competition in Group A because, ahead of the game, the team on the losing side was likely to be out of the tournament. To make the game more intense, the newly promoted NPFL side got an advantage in the first five minutes of the game when Al-Merrikh’s Amir Kamal fouled Nigeria’s Oyedokun Tosin in the penalty box.
In the 7th minute, Farouk Salami converted the spot-kick against Super Eagles goalkeeper, Olorunleke Ojo, who left Enyimba for the Sudanese side in June. Farouk Salami scores from the penalty spot for Iko.