Remo Stars Sports Club on Wednesday morning emerged champions of Valuejet Cup preseason tournament after they defeated Ikorodu City Football Club of Lagos 2-1 in the events’ final played at the Ikenne Stadium.
The team led by coach Daniel Ogunmodede had a fantastic campaign, leading to winning the Valuejet preseason competition on their home soil, Footballrover reports.
Both teams had won convincingly in the semi-finals before meeting in the South-West Derby Final.
The Sky Blue Stars narrowly defeated Sudanese Champions Al Merrikh 3-2 on penalties to secure their spot in the final, while the Oga Boys crushed Rivers United 3-2 to seal their fate as well.
Winners of the 2024 Value Jet Cup 🌟#ValueJetCup24 | #WeAreRemoStars pic.twitter.com/L8NeacXo5A
— Remo Stars Sports Club (@RemoStarsSC) July 31, 2024
The game exploded into life within the opening minutes when Ikorodu City, the underdogs, came within inches of taking the lead when Emmanuel Solomon’s thunderous effort rattled the woodwork.
However, the game took a dramatic turn just moments later when Remo Stars were awarded a penalty.
Fans in the stadium held their breath as Ibrahim Abubakar stepped up to take the spot-kick.
But Ikorodu City goalkeeper, Yusuf Rauf, pulled off a heroic save to deny the Remo forward to keep the scores level.
The deadlock was finally broken on the half-hour mark when Ibrahim Abubakar made amends for his earlier miss with a pinpoint cross that found the head of Seth Mayi.
The Remo man made no mistake, powering his header past the helpless Ikorodu goalkeeper to give his side a deserved lead.
The Oga Boys fought back valiantly, creating several half-chances but unable to find the equaliser heading into the interval.
The second half followed a similar pattern, with the Sky Blue Stars looking to extend their lead while the Boys from Lagos desperately searched for a way back into the game.
The encounter was effectively sealed on 68 minutes when Seth Mayi grabbed his second of the game, tapping in from close range after a goal-line scramble for his third goal of the tournament.
The Ikorodu team were stunned, but their team refused to give up.
With time running out, they managed to pull a goal back through a beautifully executed free-kick that was headed home by Otaniyi Taofeek.
That goal ignited a frantic moment for Ikorodu to throw everything forward in search of an equaliser.
However, Remo Stars held firm to see off the win and claim the championship title.
Remo Stars are #ValueJetCup24 Champions. pic.twitter.com/zbYOCyhrQn
— ValueJet Cup (@ValueJetCup) July 31, 2024
Remo Stars Sports Club are now the new Valuejet Cup champion after unseating Shooting Stars, the winners of the 2023 edition.
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