Sporting Lagos, an emerging force in Nigerian football, has made a remarkable ascent from the NNL to the Nigeria Professional League (NPFL) in just over a year. The Lagos-based team embarked on their latest NPFL journey with a tough matchup against Akwa United, ending in a goalless draw.

The Noisy Lagosians, who started their NPFL campaign with a victory against Gombe United at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena in Lagos, faced a challenging trip to Anambra to take on Akwa United at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium.

Sporting Lagos entered the game without their head coach, Paul Offor, who was away in Namibia for a coaching course, leaving the assistant coaches in charge. The coaching staff fielded an unchanged lineup, including goalscorer Rivio Ayemwenre, who had played a pivotal role in their previous victory.

FT’| The points are shared at the Nest of Champions.

A second clean sheet of the season for our defence 🛡️

Akwa United 🟠 0 – 0 Sporting Lagos 🔵#NPFL24 #LetsGoSporting pic.twitter.com/vcmRxKwH07

— Sporting Lagos (@SportingLagos) October 8, 2023

The first half of the match offered limited scoring opportunities, with Sporting Lagos goalkeeper Christian Nwoke impressively keeping Akwa United at bay. Saturday Okon came close to opening the scoring for the visitors, but his attempt narrowly missed the target.

In an attempt to spark life into Sporting’s attack, Super Eagles striker Junior Lokosa was introduced in the 55th minute. However, it was Sporting’s goalkeeper, Nwoke, who continued to deny Akwa United’s efforts, maintaining the goalless scoreline.

The intense contest culminated in the referee adding seven minutes of injury time. Ultimately, neither team managed to break the deadlock, resulting in a hard-fought goalless draw.

I RETURN ALL GLORY TO GOD 🙌🏻 pic.twitter.com/hoOldvCx0A

— Christian Nwoke (@Christi52378611) October 9, 2023

This draw secured Sporting Lagos their second clean sheet of the season, while Akwa United earned their first point in the NPFL. Heavyweights; Akwa United FC, Rivers United FC & Enyimba Int’l FC all sit in the relegation zone.