Gold Cup Final: Sporting Lagos can win trophy -Buter
Coach Jeffrey Buter says his Sporting Lagos team will go for the win against FC Ebedei in the final of the Gold Cup 13th edition on Saturday at the FC Ebedei Stadium in Apele-Sagamu.
The Oliseh Boys could be a hard nut to crack again but Buter is certain his lads are good enough to dominate and put the ball into the back of the net.
“We’re excited and ecstatic about the win against Lobi Stars, as it was a result of hard work. The players fought against a top team and I think we deserved the victory.
It shows that we can play and compete against the best teams, and of course, excited to battle FC Ebedei in the final.
Regarding his tactical genius, after he introduced the duo of Shola Oladunjoiye and Ibrahim Abdulganniyu in the 70th minute of their game against Lobi, he described it as the game-changer for his team
“It’s the same for those who play and those who came on. We wanted to trust everybody, and it shows that the lads on the bench are as good as the ones that started the game and that’s the healthy competition we want in the team.
“We needed fresh legs to push for the win, and we saw that one of the substitutes could give us something different, especially arriving in the box, as that’s what he (Oladunjoiye) knows how to do best, and thankfully it paid off.
Reflecting on his team’s loss to Sunshine Stars, compared to how Sporting Lagos played against Lobi Stars, he said
“I think we put the ball in the back of the net against Lobi Stars, in the last game we dominated but our opponent scored.
“In the semi-final game, we defended, fought well, scored and made sure the opponent didn’t score. I think that’s the difference between the two matches.
On the level of opposition after five matches in the tourney, “We played against teams that will be competing in the Nigeria National League (NNL), Sunshine Stars, Abakaliki FC and Lobi Stars. This was the test we wanted, to compete and, of course, get better and also make sure we’re ready for the new NNL season.
The final against FC Ebedei is another game for us just as the last four, we’ll be ready.
Hopefully, we want to compete in every game, not just finals or semi-finals. Every game has to be competitive for us; we’ll see what happens, and hopefully, we can win the trophy.
Asked if his team is ready for the season, “I think we’re ready. We’ve shown that we have done a lot of work in the last six or seven weeks.
“These performances and results are a testament to it, regardless of what happens in the final. It’s not a promotion to the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL). Also, we have to go and face the work ahead of us.”
However, it was another clean sheet for Clinton Lawani and Buter had this to say about his shot stopper.
“Yes , I mean, it’s for the team, everybody fought hard and made sure he didn’t face a lot of shots, so I think it was collective effort. Everybody deserves the applause”, he concluded.
