Cable Network News Wonder Goal of the Month of February 2017, Sikiru Olatunbosun, leads the three-man cast of Ifeanyi Ifeanyi of Akwa United and Chidi Nwachukwu of Go Round FC for the Nigeria Professional Football League Match Day 18 VAT Wonder Goal Awards shortlists.
For Nwachukwu’s goal, spirited repel of his side’s effort at goal saw the ball bumbling around the defensive box until a measured pull out from the right side of Kwara United defence fell kindly to him, to hit a low volley to the far end of the post.
ifeanyi has since established a reputation for scoring from free kicks dating back to his seasons at Lagos side, MFM FC, and on April 22, he saw another opportunity to make hay.
Taking short steps back from the ball, some 25 yards from the goal post, Ifeanyi curled the ball expertly beyond the Sunshine Stars defensive wall.
It rested softly at the high end of the left corner, gently pushing the net up and falling.
The third goal on the shortlist came off a counter offensive at the Agege Stadium.
Monsuru Olawale Bashiru had pried the ball off a Rivers United player, pushed it to diminutive Chukwuka Onuwa, who side-stepped his marker and deftly toed the ball towards Olatunbosun.
He paced forward to near the 18 yard box before unleashing a grounder that beat veteran goalkeeper, Rotimi Sunday, to arouse cheers from appreciative fans.
Video clips of the three goals have been uploaded on the NPFL website: www.npfl.ng, and Twitter handle: @lmcnpfl, for voting, which opened on May 1 and ends at midnight of May 3.
Emeka Ogbugh of Rivers United, Sikiru Alimi of Sunshine Stars and Sochima Elum are the three previous winners of the N150,000 prize money so far this season.
The VAT Wonder Goal Award is an initiative of the League Management Company supported by the Federal Inland Revenue Services to deepen club and community engagement through charity support and also promote the benefits of tax payment through the FIRS tax education campaign.