By Tayo Ogunseye in Lagos
It was a sigh of relief for players of relegated Gateway FC of Ogun State after they secured the Betpawa Locker Room Bonus by defeating Conference A winners Inter Lagos 2-1 at the Inspire Stadium, Lagos in a Nigeria National League encounter.
Akorede Abass got the Lagosians ahead through a penalty in the 16th minute while Babatunde Taofek levelled the score in the 60th
Toafek would later seal the win with his second strike ten minutes later for the satisfying victory for the visitors which incidentally would be their third in 16 matches after enduring a long and difficult campaign.
Victory has been hard to come by in a season many described as the most competitive and exciting ever in the history of the ‘Most Important League’.
Brimming with satisfaction after coming back from a goal down against their hosts, some of the players looked fulfilled as they were confident of getting the 56,000 naira Betpawa Locker Room Bonus given to any winning team at Match Days.
“At last! We too are going to get our own Betpawa Locker Room Bonus after a very long time!”, one of the players exclaimed.
He echoed the team’s feeling as this reporter was exiting the venue after the last match in the regular season.
“Ti aba le jè Oba, a le j’Eba,” says a Yoruba adage which literally means, “If you can get the a big title, celebrate your little wins.”
For Gateway FC Players, their little wins in Lagos looked comforting enough as they didn’t go back to their base empty-handed.
The bonus which was introduced at the beginning of the season by the board of the NNL led by George Aluo in partnership with Betpawa has played a critical motivation for teams to be more competitive as it also served as a financial relief saving clubs from being indebted to their teams.
Credit: Tayo Ogunseye, the Media Aide to NNL Chairman
