By: Omar Jatta
Hawks FC were stunned at home by Nigerian Professional League leaders, Akwa United, ending all hopes of the Gambian side reaching the next round of the CAF Confederations Cup.
A brace from attacking midfielder, Cyril Olisema overturned the result of the two-legged tie. Hawks who were leading the tie following a surprised 2-1 victory in Uyo, Akwa State, failed to turn up last night at the Independence Stadium in Bakau, as the visitors took hold of their destiny by bossing the game from the onset, dashing all hopes for the home crowd as they went on to secure a place in the next round of the competition with a 3-2 aggregate score. The host only needed a draw to qualify or a lose by 1 goal would’ve have been enough to see them through.
Olisema scored his opener for the visitors in the 36th minute to take his team into the half-time break with renewed hopes and it took the Nigerian midfielder only about ten seconds after the break to secure his team’s fate with a decisive second goal, after pouncing on a mistake from a Hawks player in the central area to fire home a stunning strike from distance.
Akwa United players celebrate the victory at the Independence Stadium in Bakau
Up until the first goal Hawks, who did not offer much going forward, defended well to keep the Promise Keepers at bay, but the two goals changed the narrative in the game and things could have got worse for The Gambians, when Victor Mbaoma, who was the goal scorer for the visitors in the first leg in Nigeria, stroke home a third in the 74th minute but was ruled offside.
Hawks’s struggle in front of the goal this season has been well highlighted, having scored only four goals in the league this season prior to their game in first leg at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo ten days ago, and thus the two they scored in that game surprised everyone, especially against a strong side like Akwa United, and last night their old achilles heels came back to haunt them again as their search to dump the Nigerian outfit came to an abrupt and disappointing end.
