HOUSING ESTATE FC, Fegge came from a goal down, to defeat MISS ELEMS FC by 2-1 in the opening fixture of EGWUEKERE 2025.
The Curtain raiser, which was hosted at the Godwin Achebe Stadium, Fegge lived up to its expectations in a keenly contested derby outing, in a match of similar strength between two footballing sides in the same locality.
The Solitary Sponsor of the Tournament, WINNERS GLOBAL ESTATE LIMITED, A leading brand in Real Estate Investment, led with an official entrance into the stadium, followed by an opening prayer before the ceremonial kick-off which got the hostilities underway.
Housing Estate FC who were dressed in all yellow, parading eight players in the opening exchanges, got the first half underway with the official kick-off as they calmly defended against the masquerading MISS ELEMS FC
Both sides hardly got into the rhythm of the game in the first half as scoring chances were hard to come by while the Centre Referee repeatedly called for free kicks on the occasion of Infringement in the field of play, Indicating numerous offside calls while he also verbally cautioned against unnecessary time wasting.
The real chance, on goal came in the 35th minute when captain of MISS ELEMS FC, Chibuike Mboma tried his luck from distance which was parried away for safety, for a corner kick by HOUSING ESTATE FC Goalkeeper, Mmaduagwuna Somadina.
The additional two minutes at the end of the first 45 minutes didn't yield any fruit as both sides went into the break, barren and on level terms.
The second 45 minutes was initiated at the end of the 15 minutes rest period by MISS ELEMS FC who brought the game to life.
The goal finally came in the 72nd minute, as a well taken corner kick by Henry Chidiebere of MISS ELEMS FC which led to a scrabble in the box of HOUSING ESTATE FC, and fell into the path of Samuel Chibuike who precisely rattled the net with a touch, sending the spectators into jubilant mood.
HOUSING ESTATE FC immediately roared into life, hunting for a quick equaliser and thought they had gotten it in the 74th minute through Sunday Kalu, off a free kick but his effort was ruled off for an offside by the Centre Referee.
HOUSING ESTATE had an additional lifeline to restore parity from the penalty spot when Ikechukwu Adigbo was fouled in the penalty area of MISS ELEMS FC but the spot kick of Iniobong Solomon was saved by MISS ELEMS FC Goalkeeper, Egbo Francis.
Parity was eventually restored as Iniobong Solomon was brought down close to the penalty area for a free kick as his team mate , Nnamdi Emmanuel calmly slotted home for 1-1 in the 76th minute
Both teams searched for a winner and it did pay off finally as HOUSING ESTATE left it quite late, to shatter the heart of MISS ELEMS FC with a flashy counter attack in 90 +2 minutes scored by Ikechukwu Adigbo for an amazing comeback.
MISS ELEMS FC were left with little under 4 minutes of Injury time for the equaliser but HOUSING ESTATE FC kept their defensive acumen intact as they won the tie by 2-1.
EGWUEKERE 2025, which is a full option 11 aside football Tournament is designed and packaged by Phamouz Sports and Events Concept and is proudly supported by the Media Partners, Udala Radio 104.7fm
