Nigeria’s most talked about football club Sporting Lagos came from behind to beat former Nigeria Professional Football League champions Akwa United 2-1 to qualify for the final of the maiden edition of the Naija Super 8 Tournament at the Mobolaji Johnson Stadium in Lagos on Friday.
Sporting’s fairytale run looked to have ended when Akwa United took the lead through veteran midfielder Cyril Olisema in the 41st minute to silence the loud support from the home fans.
The Tech Boys returned for the second half more determined and were rewarded after a few minutes.
Saturday Okon, one of the revelations of the Super 8 gave the teeming fans their voice back scoring from a quick free kick to hand the home side an equalizer in the 54th minute, redeeming himself from the close-range miss earlier in the game.
Jonathan Alukwu ensured Sporting reached the final, heading home the winner in the 70th minute after a dangerous cross from Emeka Offor sending the fans into wild jubilation.
Akwa United threw in the kitchen sink to try and get an equalizer and get themselves back into the game but the Lagos Boys were resolute in defense as they held on for their third win of the competition having previously recorded wins against Remo Stars and Katsina United in the group phase.
Sporting will face rivals Remo Stars in the final on Sunday.
The Ikenne-based team defeated Lobi Stars 2-1 in an earlier semi-final encounter. Remo will be hoping to exert revenge over the Tech Boys over their earlier 2-1 defeat in the group stages.
