By Akila Matawal
A late strike by Paschal Onunze proved vital as FC ONE Rockets were held to a 1-1 draw by hosts Warri Wolves in a matchday 12 Nigeria National League (NNL) encounter at the Warri City Stadium on Sunday.
A cagey start to the game witnessed no clear cut chances for either side until the 19th minute when Tosin Olabode drew a save out of Wolves goalkeeper Joshua with a shot the latter parried away for a corner kick.
Rockets’ number one Christian Nwoke would also be called to duty a minute later, producing a good save to deny the hosts from taking the lead.
Two more chances for Rockets through Daga Daniel and Ugochukwu Obiri in the 35th and 44th minutes respectively failed to hit the target, taking the game into the break with scores tied goalless.
Samuel Anietie’s introduction in the 55th minute marked the turning point as the winger continuously threatened Wolves with amazing runs while the game lasted.
The 84th minute was the moment of the game for Rockets after Anietie played left back Paschal Onunze through and he made no mistake, controlling and firing the ball beyond Wolves goalkeeper to break the deadlock and leave home fans dumbfounded and shocked.
The hosts fought back and got their equalizer in the third minute of stoppage time via Philip Archibong’s header to take a share of the spoils.
The Selection
Head coach Emmanuel King made just one change to the starting XI that beat Nnewi United 1-0 last week with Tosin Olabode taking Kuku Kingsley’s place.
Starting XI
Christian Nwoke, Paschal Onunze, Harrison Ebah, Ayuba Francis, Daga Daniel, Ramos Sanni, Abel Abba (Maclyn Biokpo), Joshua John, Tosin Olabode (Samuel Anietie), Ugochukwu Obiri, Tumba Musa
Unused Substitutes
Charles Etim, Bidemi Fawehinmi, Daniel Simon, Solomon Boyo, Udoh Akpan
What the result means
The draw takes the tally of points for FC ONE Rockets to 15 and puts the team seventh on the log after 11 games.
What Next?
The team is drawn bye heading into the last match week of the first round and will return to action on the 6th of May, 2022 against Cynosure FC, a rescheduled match day 10 clash at the Pa Oruta Ngele Stadium, Abakaliki.