Elite championship: anglophone clubs record momentous weekend

Five of the zone’s overall six teams registered victories in the elite championship competition during the weekend.

Anglophone clubs competing in the first and second division football championships recorded a scintillating weekend of matches in the competition during the weekend. Five of the zone’s overall six teams registered victories in the competition during the weekend’s matches, with ISOHSA of Limbe being the lone unlucky outfit after settling for a draw.

In the second division championship, the MTN Elite Two, Ngoketunjia United Football Academy and Bafmeng United Football Academy each tentatively climbed to the top of their respective groups in the competition following victories in their various pools. In Group A, Bafmeng United moved to the top after registering a comfortable 2-0 win over FAP of Yaounde at the University of Bamenda Stadium.

The goals came in from forward Brillant Awahmukala and Mael Dindjeke. The victory helped the club to move to 22 points after playing 13 matches this season. The Menchum Division club sits one point ahead of Eding Sport of the Lekie which has 21 points in 12 matches. ISOHSA which held host Fovu of Baham to a goalless draw, sits third with 18points followed by Aigle of the Menoua on 16 points. The ranking leaves Bafmeng United sitting in a good corner in the race to finish the group phase ranking among the top four teams on the final table.

The top four teams will qualify to compete in the Elite One promotion phase of the championship.

Ngoketunjia United boosts promotion playoff chances

In Group B of the second division, Ngoketunjia United further boosted its chances of qualifying for the promotion playoff phase of the competition. The team widened its window in the race after climbing to the top of the tentative classification table in the pool following a comfortable win in the course of the weekend matches.

The Ngoketunjia Division team defeated Apejes of Mfou 3-0 at the University of Bamenda Stadium. All three goals came in from former Options Sports of Bamenda sensation, Ngah Suarez Dunamis. Following the victory, Ngoketunjia United moved to 22 points after playing 12 matches in the league this season. The team tops the league ahead of Unisport of Bafang and Avion Academy of Nkam on 19 points each.

The standing means the Ngoketunjia academicians need to win just one of their last two matches in the group stages to be able to qualify for the Elite One promotion playoff phase of the championship as one of the top-four teams from Group B.

All Anglophone teams win in Elite One

For the first time since the start of the ongoing Elite championship campaign, all Anglophone teams in the Elite One succeeded in winning their matches in a single weekend of games. That happened during the weekend. Yong Sports Academy of Bamenda, YOSA, came out as the biggest performer, picking a 1-0 victory over host Bamboutos of Mbouda.

The Yellow Submarines registered the victory at the Mbouda Arena in the chief town of the Bamboutos Division.  The win against the Mangwa Boys was the Yellow Submarines’ second successive triumph in the competition and its overall third this term. It helped the club to increase its point tally to 13points. 

Although the point proved insufficient in helping the Bamenda team to tentatively escape the bottom 16^th spot on the league table, it generally contributed in increasing the outfit’s chances of successfully fighting relegation this season. With 13points, head coach Alexander Belinga and his lads are now sitting just four points from relegation safety. Bamboutos which sits 13^th and occupies the fourth and final relegation position, has 17 points from 17 matches.

PWD further bolsters relegation survival bid

PWD Bamenda intensified its relegation survival bid with a hard-fought 2-1 win over fellow relegation-bullied Dynamo of Douala on Sunday. The victory helped the Abakwa Boys to move to 21points, four points above the drop zone on the tentative classification

.

Victoria United keeps diming title race alive

South West Region team, Victoria United Football Club of Limbe maintained its title race. The team bagged a 2-0 win over visiting Canon of Yaounde at the Limbe Centenary Stadium. The result helped the One People One Power club in cutting the gap separating it from leaders Colombe of Dja and Lobo to 14 points after climbing to 24 points in 17 games.

Struggling Coton Sport drops to fourth spot

Elsewhere in the league, Coton Sport of Garoua has been relegated to the fourth position on the tentative classification table of ongoing first division football championship campaign. The team witnessed the drop on the MTN Elite One championship tentative classification registering its third successive defeat in the championship following a 1-0 loss to AS Fortuna over the weekend.

The Fortuna team defeated the North Region outfit at the Military Stadium in Yaounde on Sunday. The defeat followed similar results recorded by the record 18-time champions on the hands of PWD Social Club of Bamenda, Colombe of Dja and Lobo. PWD Bamenda handed the Coton Farmers a shock 2-0 beating at home at the annex of the Garoua Roumde Adjia Stadium on March 9 before Colombe added the second defeat with another 2-0 trouncing of Nchindo John Bosco and his teammates.

Following the defeat, Coton Sport dropped from the third to the fourth position on the tentative classification table. The team totals 27 points from 17 matches. The North Region outfit sits nine points behind leaders, Colombe of Dja and Lobo, seven points fewer than Gazelle Football Academy of Garoua and a point behind third-placed Stade Renard of Melong. The continuous drop on the table further pushes the Garoua club to a tight position in the league title race in the topflight championship, per Cameroonian football pundits.