Heartland Queens take first points battle to Remo Stars Ladies’ den
Coming on the heels of last Wednesday’s colourless and fiercely fought barren draw against oriental neighbours, Abia Angels on home soil, Heartland Queens will challenge for the first points of the season at two-season topflight experiencers, Remo Stars Ladies in the NWFL Premiership matchday 4 game on Wednesday, February 05 at the Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne, Ogun state.
The topflight matchday 4 matchup will be the very first time ever both premier leaguers are meeting themselves in an elite league clash. The first time ever both sides met in any competition was at the 2023 Federation Cup Round of 16 game then the Blue Sky ladies who campaigned as Lakeside Queens actually stunned the Owerri mainstreams on that occasion and thereby denied them a historic back to back quarterfinals performance in the oldest and glamorous Cup competition in the land.
Thereafter, both sides narrowly missed meeting again with some whiskers at the 2024 Betsy Obaseki Women Football Tournament (BOWFT) in Benin City as well as the 2024 Sheroes Cup preseason showpiece in FCT, Abuja where the Ikenne side went ahead to emerge champions in their maiden of the annual football event that witnessed its uninterrupted seven-year running.
On current form, Remo Stars Ladies are princely placed joint top on points with the reigning champions, Edo Queens in the eight-team Group A log while the Owerri mainstreams are yet to come to terms on what she wants in the ongoing season given her poorly placed seventh position on the pecking order.
Heading into the Wednesday’s showdown, both topflights were contented sharing the spoils with their opponents in matchday 3 clashes but the Ikenne side were far better off with the road trip point at the champions, Edo Queens in Benin City compared with the Owerri landladies who laboured effortlessly for a point on home soil against the oriental neighbours, Abia Angels.
The saying that hell knows no fury than a woman jilted is apt with the Owerri side and a most likely definer of the attitudes they will be bringing into the game on Wednesday in Ikenne.
The timely return from injury of the side’s hitherto first choice netminder, Uchenna Chukwu to the dugout in the barren draw against nextdoor neighbours, Abia Angels, the mien, calmness and stability she brought to bear in the game will be huge this time around in the Ikenne showdown. The other trusted regulars, Oluomachi Onwere, Henry Chisom, Prisca Nwachukwu, Faith Samson, Monica Matthew, Oluchi Okwara, Chimebere Opara, Emmanuella James, and other new breeds, Oluebeube Umejiaku, Olaronke Ola, Mary Popoola, et cetera are going to keep their shirts in the battle for the first points of the season.
The gaffer of the Owerri side, Obi Ogbala, not the happiest person at the moment, and not one known to runs away from difficult tasks, knows he must come up with or conjure a lineup that will grind or squeeze out any manner of victory in the potentially fierce faceoff in Ikenne, Ogun state.
After the Ikenne showdown, the Owerri mainstreams will come back home to play host to another two-season experiencers, Dannaz Ladies in the NWFL Premiership matchday 05 game.
