VICTORIOUS SHARKS PRESENTS WAFU CUP TO GOV AMAECHI TODAY

SHARKS FC, which won the 2010 West African Football Union (WAFU) Cup competition, will today be guest of Rivers State Governor, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, who is organising a grand reception for the team.

The coach John Obuh-tutored Sharks won the trophy at the weekend by beating hard-fighting CASA Sports of Senegal 1-0. The coup de grace was applied against the Senegalese side, with Super Eagles' fringe player, Victor Ezeji, scoring the only goal.

The contingent arrived in Lagos at about 1:4p.m yesterday from Lome, Togo, by road and proceeded to the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, where they joined Aero Contractors to Port Harcourt. The Rivers State Commissioner for Sports, Boma Iyaye, said yesterday that today's reception would hold at Governor's House by 10.00a.m.

According to him, the reception is a welcome development. He said: 'This is a good start for Sharks this season and I hope that more laurels will follow this path of success in the Nigerian Premier League and other competitions.'

Meanwhile, captain of Sharks, Odinga Odinga, described the competition as 'very tough,' stating: 'It was a very difficult competition, very tough but having got this far, we knew we could not afford to disappoint our fans.'

Odinga, who spoke with SuperSport.com, singled out their semi-final clash against Horoya of Guinea as their toughest game in the competition. It was a game that saw Sharks coming from behind twice to draw 2-2 against the Guinean side before winning on penalties.

He recalled: 'The duo of Gomo Unduku and Bright Ejike equalised for us in that semi-final match, which went into extra time,' he said. 'In the ensuing penalty shootout, we missed our first two efforts while the Guineans made no mistakes, but great goalkeeping from Okiemute Odah and cold bloodedness from the rest of the players gave us a successful night and we marched into the finals.

'I am very happy we won the trophy at the end of the day. Ezeji is our hero, our inspiration, and that is why he is the most decorated footballer in the Nigerian football scene.'

On his part, defender Thankgod Amaefule was full of praise for his teammates, saying: 'We have a complete team. Everyone fights for each other and we deserved our victory.'