Arsenal’s bid to become the first team to win the FA Cup three times in succession since 1886 remains on course after Alexis Sanchez sealed Saturday’s 2-1 win over Burnley in the fourth round. The holders had a first-half scare when Burnley’s Sam Vokes cancelled out Calum Chambers’s 20th minute opener, but Sanchez’s second-half goal ensured the Premier League side avoided an upset against Championship opposition. Victory provided Arsene Wenger’s side with a timely lift following their Premier League defeat against Chelsea six days previously. With Chile forward Sanchez and French midfielder Francis Coquelin emerging unscathed after their first starts…
Author: David Folami
Jurgen Klopp faces an unwanted fixture pile-up after Liverpool were held to a dour 0-0 draw by West Ham in the FA Cup fourth round at Anfield on Saturday. Reds boss Klopp picked a fairly inexperienced team in order to give several senior players a rest, but the stand-ins were unable to find a winner against opponents who lost James Tomkins and Cheikhou Kouyate to first-half injuries. Young midfielders Cameron Brannagan and Joao Teixeira had shots beaten away by Hammers goalkeeper Darren Randolph, who was only playing because first choice Adrian had returned home to Seville to attend the birth…
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone conceded his side’s title chances may have gone as they were reduced to nine men in losing 2-1 to league leaders Barcelona on Saturday. Victory moved the European champions three points clear of Atletico – having also played a game less – and seven ahead of third-placed Real Madrid. “Barcelona continue to be very strong. In their strikers they have the goals and play that makes the difference,” said the Argentine. “They are in a very good position, they have three points more than us and a game in hand. “There is a long way…
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said he was shocked by the wild knee-high challenge on world player of the year Lionel Messi that triggered a straight red card for Atletico Madrid’s Brazilian defender Filipe Luis on Saturday. The coach, whose side won 2-1 at home to go three points clear in La Liga, protested angrily on the touchline after the left back’s studs-up tackle against the Argentine forward shortly before halftime. “Did you see my reaction? Then you can imagine what I was thinking. It shocked me but I am not going to go into details about it,” he told a…
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has admitted that he cannot know what reception he will receive when his side return to Old Trafford to face Stoke City on Tuesday. United were booed off following their most recent home game, a 1-0 defeat by Southampton last weekend, which prompted media speculation about Van Gaal’s position. His team won 3-1 at second-tier Derby County on Friday to reach the FA Cup fifth round, but Van Gaal conceded afterwards that it may not have been enough to mollify supporters frustrated by recent performances. “I’m not a stupid man. I’m an intelligent man…
A late goal by Nigerian striker Odion Ighalo proved decisive for Watford as they edged Nottingham Forest in a fourth round FA Cup tie on Saturday. The 26-year-old came off the bench with 18 minutes to time to strike past Forest goalkeeper Dorus de Vries. Watford manager Quique Sanchez Flores opted to hand Ighalo a rest from the rigours of the season by naming him on the bench with Troy Deeney starting upfront with Nordin Amrabat and Ikechi Anya playing off him. The Hornets fired blanks in the first 45 minutes at the City Ground. On 72 minutes, Ighalo was…
Alexis Sanchez returned to Arsenal’s starting line-up and the scoresheet in Saturday’s 2-1 FA Cup fourth round defeat of Burnley with manager Arsene Wenger saying his injury-enforced “winter break” could be a blessing in disguise. The Chile forward had not started a game since late November because of a hamstring injury but pounced in the 53rd minute to keep the Gunners on course for a third consecutive FA Cup triumph. While Arsenal laboured to see off their second-tier opponents, the sight of Sanchez fit and fresh was a huge boost for Wenger as his side attempt to win the English…
Some residents of Osogbo in Osun, on Saturday urged the state government to ensure proper evacuation of refuse cleared after the monthly sanitation exercise. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the residents were seen as early as 6:30am in some areas of the state capital cleaning their surroundings during the monthly sanitation exercise. One of the residents, Mrs Sade Dada, commended the government for the exercise but said measures must be taken to ensure proper management of the waste in a more economic manner. An environmental health officer, Mr Tiamiyu Alade said residents of Osogbo were always prompt…
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) says four passengers lost their lives in another boat mishap in Lagos on Saturday morning. According to NEMA, the accident occurred at Badore in Eti-Osa Local Government Area of the state at about 10.00 a.m. The South-West spokesman for the agency, Mr Ibrahim Farinloye, disclosed this on Saturday in a statement obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos. He, however, said 13 passengers were rescued. He said the boat with 17 passengers on board capsized at Badore. “The incident occurred at about 10.00 this morning. “The boat with 17 people on…
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has called on predecessor, Rotimi Amaechi to explain how he spent N3 trillion in funds received throughout his eight year tenure. Wike made the call via the Commissioner for Information, Dr Tam George who spoke to journalists in Port Harcourt on Thursday, January 28, 2016. “Amaechi left the most abandoned projects in the history of Rivers State since 1997. Thousands of workers were without their salaries for four months and thousands of teachers were not paid for nearly 12 months,” George said. “We have so many abandoned projects which huge sums have been paid but…
The Supreme Court has removed former Aviation Minister, Stella Oduah from the Senate. The apex court reached the decision today, January 29, 2016, after upholding the nullification of the elections of Oduah and Andy Uba as the senators representing Anambra North and Anambra South senatorial zones respectively, The Guardian reports. The court had earlier also sacked Uche Ekwunife, who was representing Anambra Central, from the upper chamber. Oduah, Uba and Ekwunife were all elected into office on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) meaning that the party no longer has any Senator from Anambra representing it.
A Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has expressed confidence in the victory of the party’s governorship candidate in the last Taraba State gubernatorial election, Senator Aisha Alhasan, at the Supreme Court. Senator Salisu Musa Matori, who spoke to Leadership newspaper, saying Alhassan “deserves the mandate that she was given by people of the state.” He said the governorship aspirant, who is currently the Minister of Women Affairs, is not only loved by Taraba people, “she contested against a candidate that was not validly nominated by any political party. Matori stated that Alhassan’s victory at the Supreme Court will…
Leadership newspaper has reportedly refunded N9million it collected from the embattled former National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki. SaharaReporters obtained a copy of the cheque written in the name of the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN). The body had allegedly received huge funds from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), which it disbursed to owners of newspaper and broadcast firms, including AIT, Leadership and ThisDay newspapers. It would be recalled that the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on January 26, arrested media mogul and founder of ThisDay, Nduka Obaigbena, for allegedly receiving N670 million from the NPAN…
Senator and former Akwa Ibom state governor, Godswill Akpabio, has dared the Federal government to seize any money traced to him in any foreign account. This was contained in statement released by Akpabio ‘s spokesperson, Anietie Ekong. He was reacting to a newspaper report that he had attempted to withdraw $7.2 billion from banks in Dubai, United Arab Emirate, through channels in the Central Bank of Nigeria. “We challenge these purveyors of falsehood to publish the full details of the purported $7.2 billion account and we urge the Federal Government of Nigeria to seize such sum and prosecute the owner…
The National Publicity Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Olisa Metuh,who was released from Kuje Prison on bail yesterday, Jan. 28, has expressed confidence in the party’s comeback to power in 2019. Speaking on Friday, Jan. 28, at the PDP publicity directorate meeting with some visiting parliamentarians from the United Kingdom, the spokesman said the party has adequate internal mechanisms to resolve its ongoing crisis, which he described as a sign of strength. According to Metuh’s media aide, Richard Ihediwa, the politician told the visitors that the PDP faced serious challenges soon after it lost in the elections, which…
ollowing his release from the Kuje Prison on Thursday, Jan. 28, the National Publicity Secretary of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chief Olisa Metuh, resumed work at the PDP office today, January 29. He played host to members of the British Conservative Party as his first official duty at the PDP secretariat in Abuja. The British Conservative Party’s delegation was led by Mark Field, Member of Parliament representing the Cities of London and Westminster; and Colin Bloom, Director of outreach at the Conservative Party. The Conservative Party, officially the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United…
Mr Dakuku Peterside, All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Rivers in the April 2015 election, says he has accepted the Supreme Court judgment which upheld Gov. Nyesom Wike`s election. Peterside disclosed this on Friday in a phone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). “I thank God for giving me the opportunity to go this far. “The learned Justices of the Supreme Court of Nigeria have arrived at a decision, which was a clear departure from the earlier findings of the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal and Court of Appeal. “We accept the verdict. We magnify God for giving…
In a recent interview with Hip TV, Mavin Records singer Reekado Banks, 22, has spoken about his relationship with YBNL rapper Lil’ Kesh. At Headies 2015 Reekado Banks won the coveted Next Rated award, a category that Lil Kesh was nominated in. Reekado Banks’ victory started the clash between Olamide and Don Jazzy at the award ceremony which was later resolved by Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote. In the interview Reekado Banks said Lil Kesh weren’t close friends but maintained that they have a cordial relationship despite the Headies drama. “We weren’t the closest of friends like close, close, close. It…
Kanye West is at it again and this time, he seems to be going after his ex-girlfriend, Amber Rose, whom he has apparently refused to apologize to. Instead, the rapper, who got into an epic Twitter battle with rapper Wiz Khalifa on January 27, is now coming after Amber for not only posting the most shocking tweets of all time about their alleged sex antics when they used to date, but called him a “f**king clown” in a new interview with podcast, ‘Allegedly’. Ammber tweeted “Awww @kanyewest are u mad I’m not around to play in ur asshole anymore? #FingersInTheBootyAssBitch☝”…
Nollywood actress Chioma Akpotha has clarified her recent tweet which seemed to take a shot at fellow actresses Uche Jumbo, Omoni Oboli, Blessing Egbe, and Ufuoma McDermott. Today Chioma Akpotha has clarified her tweet. “If i want to throw jabs at my “sisters”, i know best not to do it here. with whats going on everywhere now. Its quite easy to be misquoted.” “Sisters DO NOT have be related by blood to be sisters! @uchejombo @Omonioboli @ufuomaMcDermott @BLESSINGEGBE ????.” Actresses Omoni Oboli, Ufuoma and McDermott acknowledge her tweets. Omoni Oboli said “@Omakpotha awww Chi ❤️❤️❤️?????? #AlwaysAndForever” ufuoma McDermott also said…