8th December, 2011
The second quarter of this year saw Handsworth Football Club of Sango Otta, Ogun State emerging Ogun FA Cup winners and went ahead to reach the Round of 32 in the last Federation Cup.
When the tourney began, nobody gave Handsworth a chance to reach Ogun FA Cup final Despite the challenges the club, went all out to defeat professional club side, Ebiede FC in the semi final and Indomine FCÂ 5-4 on penalty shootout to emerge the champions of Ogun FA Cup.
The victory recorded in Ogun FA Cup spurred Handsworth to go far in the last Federation Cup.
Handsworth, which featured in the Federation Cup, formerly National Challenge Cup, for the first time, hammered an amateur club, Police Machine from Markurdi 2-0 in their first match played at Samuel Ogbemudiah Stadium, Benin, Edo State.
Many spectators who watched the encounter praised Handsworth for their performance and tipped them to go far in the tournament.
Handsworth’s impressive first match boosted their confidence to humble Lobi Stars 1-0 in the Round of 64 at the Kogi Township Stadium, Kogi State. Before the match, football lover doubted their capabilty to beat the Premier Club .
However, during this period, Handsworth faced a lot of challenges because they were not given financial support by Ogun State, the state the club represented at the championship. This also affected their performance in the Round of 32 of the tourney.
The ambition of Handsworth to reach the Round of 16 suffered a setback when Dekina Dragon FC of Kogi defeated Handsworth on 4-5 penalty shootouts after 1-1 at the regulation time in Abuja.
Team Manager of Handsworth, Tajudeen Olasunkanmi, said the team would have gone far in Federation Cup if Ogun State FA gave the club the necessary support.
Despite the challenges in the quarter under review Handsworth FCÂ made their mark as one of the first grassroots club in Ogun State to reach the Round of 32 of the Federation Cup, a national tournament in the country
They promised to defend their title in the next edition of Ogun FA Cup.