A Huge Win for Shooting Gets Ogunbote Excited Again
Coach Gbenga Ogunbote is excited again. He is back to winning ways, an experience that seemed to have deserted him since the start of the season at his former club, Sharks.
There is no telling that Ogunbote would prefer not to remember his last few months at the Garden City Club where he became a hero after navigating them out of the relegation threats in the 2012/13 season and led them to a flying start in 2013/14 before the club was grounded by cash crunch.
An ugly experience at the hands of some thugs said to be the club’s fans left him traumatized and missing from the bench when the season kicked off and even his return few games before the break failed to bring a breakthrough in their poor run.
In Ibadan, Shooting Stars have been having their own result crisis leading to the Management asking Coach Franklin Howard. While fans watched with keen interest the next move of Rasheed Balogun and his management team, they had reached out to the embattled coach to come and rescue an equally embattled club. The three weeks break was the opportune moment to unveil Ogunbote as the replacement for Howard and the Match Day 11 fixture against Lobi Stars, his first test in front of the ever strong Oluyole Warriors support base.
He enjoyed a rousing welcome from the stands but it was the players that made his joy complete by handing out a comprehensive 3-0 defeat to Lobi Stars, their first such scoreline since the start of the season.
Afterwards, Ogunbote who led Sunshine Stars to the CAF Champions League semi-finals expressed touching appreciation to the Supporters of Shooting Stars and said he is confident there will be a turnaround in the fortunes of the club.
Shooting Stars were outstanding in the game and took the lead in just three minutes through Ajani Ibrahim’s header. Two other goals by Ajayi Junior completed Lobi Stars’ misery. The result pushed Shooting Stars far from the relegation lines on 13th position with 11 points.
“I am glad the squad is gradually shaping up and we will seek to build on the victory against Lobi Stars to improve our campaign”, offered a visibly relieved Ogunbote.
He found words for his joy, saying,“I am grateful to God and the Management of Shooting Stars for giving me this opportunity and I will do everything to put the team back to shape”.
On how he would bring about good results to Ibadan, Ogunbote told www.npfl.ng that he is hoping to land at least five players to boost the squad when the transfer window opens again mid-season.
“By mid-season we will be able to bring in fresh legs, maybe four or five good players.”
Hero of Shooting Stars’ 3-0 win over Lobi Stars, Junior Ajayi, was full of praises for Ogunbote and credited the coach for his superb display in match day.
Ajayi would also later talk on his performance under the new coach.“I am a new player under the new coach. He has shown me how to be a better and a disciplined player too and I am really enjoying my game under him already.”
The former First Bank FC striker added that he is not in a competition for personal glory but would rather want to see his goals propel Shooting Stars up the league table.
“I am not in a competition to emerge as the highest goal scorer. What I am after is to help my team and score more goals because the job of a striker is to score goals,” Ajayi said.