Weeks after Akwa United Football Club of Uyo received over two-hundred million naira from the Akwa Ibom State government and about ten million naira sponsorship fee the team has been condemned to relegation following a disappointing draw in Week 35 of the Nigeria Professional Football League game against Nembe City at the Uyo township stadium.
The Uyo-based team failed to return to winning ways as they continued in their poor run of form going six matches without a win and drawing their fifth home match of the season, the team currently occupies the 19th position with 43 points from a possible 105 and its bound for relegation to the lower division of the league, the Nigerian National League(NNL) just two years after gaining promotion into the elite division.
The situation on the matchday led to a near riot at the Uyo stadium with fans calling for the immediate dissolution of the technical crew and management which according to them comprise of ‘uncreative’ and ‘uncommitted’ fellows lacking the technical know-how to run the team.
The Promise Keepers in the reverse fixture in Bayelsa lost 2-0 and laboured in Uyo under assistant coach James Etokebe who stood in for Coach Justin Tenger as he went for pension processing in Benue but were unable to break even.
While few fans thought it was unwise for a coach to leave an important match like that, many believed that Tenger’s presence would have done nothing to salvage the situation as the team is made up of average players most of which followed Tenger from relegated Niger Tornadoes to Uyo. The fans blamed the management for allowing players like Femi Thomas, Omo Johnson, Joseph Osadiaye, Musa Najare and lately Ubong Ekpai leave the club with no good or better replacements, adding that the choice of Tenger as the coach of a team that did well last season with prospect of getting a continental slot was a mistake.
It could be recalled that Justin Tenger was hired to manage the Uyo outfit after Coach Solomon Ogbeide parted way with the team as the end of last season to Warri Wolves. Justin Tenger alongside Lawrence Akpokoma, Alphonsus Dike, Zachary Baraje, Imama Amakpabo and Samuel Abimbola were interviewed by the technical committee headed by Coach Charles Bassey, Eno Etukud, Anietie Ukpa and Joseph Eberefe who recommended the retired military man for the job.
The clause in the contract was for the Benue-born coach to qualify the team to the continental which he affirmed during his first press briefing in Uyo to achieve. However, the dream of going continental has been replaced by surviving the league and not going down as the 2013 Federation Cup semi-finalist look more certain than not to be relegated to the lower ranks when the league’s curtain falls on 20th October, 2013.
Akwa United has three matches to play against Warri Wolves, Kaduna United and Kwara United and fans believe that dissolving the management and technical crew is best for the interest of the team owing to the huge investment of the state government.
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