The Niger Tornadoes Sentinel
Match15 Sep 2035
The run is over for Niger Tornadoes
8 matches without defeat, and then Kun Khalifat. Nobody at the ground pretended it would go on forever; nobody expected it to stop here either.
Squad17 Sep 2035
Ismail Sarki is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.23 with 14 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Match15 Sep 2035
Kun Khalifat take the points off Niger Tornadoes
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings17 Sep 2035
The game went through Wisdom Samuel — 6.51
Marked 6.51 on 11 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
Player ratings17 Sep 2035
Efe Obiomo runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout17 Sep 2035
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Noah Correa left the room before anybody could ask which.
Squad17 Sep 2035
Ahmed Ejuke signs a new deal
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ahmed Ejuke commits to Niger Tornadoes for another 3 years.
The dugout17 Sep 2035
Efe Obiomo gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Efe Obiomo is on it.
The dugout17 Sep 2035
The manager makes an example of Ahmed Nwakali
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
In brief
- The dugout Victor Ogunjobi dropped after a run of poor form
- Looking ahead Uche Collins faces his old club
- Squad A first team debut at 16 for William Osimhen