Written by Bethel Kalu
“No gree for anybody.” That seems to be the theme of the year for many Nigerians. How that came to be widely accepted is still a mystery to me. I am about to tell a thrilling story which reflects this theme. This is about a football game which lasted for 137 minutes and ended 6-5.
On Monday afternoon, I was invited to a friendly football match at Old Court Primary School, Ngwa Road, Aba and I attended.
In the first half, the team in red dominated, hit the bar twice, got a goal ruled out for offside and in the first twenty minutes, they were up by 3-0. They were younger, agile and strategic. The team in lemon were confused, they quickly made panic changes and in the 45th minute, they pulled a goal back. It ended 3-1 in the first half.
In the second half, the team in lemon came out stronger, made vital changes and came back into the game. 3-3. No gree for anybody.
In what I thought was the dying minutes of the game, the team in lemon who were initially three goals down took the lead. 4-3. No gree for anybody.
Then the drama continued. Normally, as a live match commentator, I work with time and it affects how I see football games, I use time too. So, immediately the second half began, I started my stopwatch. After 45 minutes in the second half, I thought the end of this game was in sight, but it was not.
A player who just came in for the reds played a free-kick and boom, 4-4. The second half continued until the 75th minute of play in when the team in lemon scored the fifth goal. I was worried. “What is this referee doing?” I thought. The lemon team signalled the coach that time was up and he disagreed, saying he was with his own time. No gree for anybody again?
Soon, the referee temporarily sent a player in red out for a rough tackle. The player left the pitch area and went to discuss with his friends. The referee signalled him to return but he refused and told them to continue with 10-11 players. The referee waited for a moment and continued the game. No gree for anybody.
The team in lemon scored another goal and in the 91st minute of the second half, the team in red scored to make it 6-5 and one minute later, the referee ended the game.
92 minutes played in the second half and 45 in the first half, that is 137 minutes of football and an eleven-goal thriller.
When the referee came out, a member of the team in red protested and the referee claimed he added time wasted and time spent in searching for the ball when it went over the fence and I reckon that it was not up to 10 minutes. I stepped in and told him that the second half lasted for 92 minutes.
The referee said that we, who do not watch football will “always talk.” I smiled, turned and headed home. “No matter where you go, remember the road that will lead you home.”
It was a beautiful game of intrigues, good goals, display of talent and most importantly, friendship.
Still, it had “no gree for anybody” written over it.