The Barau Courier
Squad4 Jan 2038
Olisa Awoniyi keeps Barau in it on his own
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 11 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Match2 Jan 2038
No mercy from Barau
Shooting Stars will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Barau were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Squad4 Jan 2038
3 goals for Chibuikem Obiezechukwu
The match ball belongs to Chibuikem Obiezechukwu, whose 3 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.
Player ratings4 Jan 2038
Sunday Anthony, 37, rolls back the years — 7.93
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.93 at 37, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Market4 Jan 2038
William Onyekuru puts it in writing
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Barau, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad4 Jan 2038
Hilary Ekawu stays put
“The easiest signature of my career.” Hilary Ekawu and Barau agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Player ratings4 Jan 2038
Nothing got past Onyekachi Thompson
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 23 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings4 Jan 2038
One of those days for Chibuikem Obiezechukwu
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.82, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Boardroom4 Jan 2038
Graduation day at Barau
8 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
In brief
- Squad Tempers go at Barau
- Market Abdullahi Umar steps up from the Barau academy
- Market Olayinka Ajayi steps up from the Barau academy