By: Abdulquadir Adedapo
Mahanaim FC’s hottest property, Aliyu Baba has described his second-half heroic display against Camp United last Friday, as odd and amazing after coming off the bench to inspire them to what was a one-sided 4-0 win in a friendly match.
With both sides level at halftime, Aliyu was introduced at the break and opened the floodgate of goals halfway into the half when he pounced on a rebound to make it 1-0, moments later he then connected with Friday Samson to score his brace.
Keen to emulate the scoring form of Erling Haland’s sweet start to life at the Etihad, the incredible striker grabbed his hat-trick as he lobbed the goalkeeper for 3-0 after which Aliu turned provider for a fellow substitute, Ismail to wrap up the win.
Speaking to the club’s media, ‘Tiger’ as his popularly called by teammates on the pitch, stated that he has had many amazing second-half performances but insisted his latest was usual and might just be his best.
“It’s always nice to be in the right place and score a goal, and as a striker, my job is to score so whenever I go into every game. I have always tried to do my job on the field which is to put the ball at the back of the net, but scoring three was special.
“When I knew I was going to start from the bench, it was a bit new, however, I also believe it was a chance to also study the game from the bench, and the coach’s instructions from the bench made it very easy for me to steal the show.
Aliyu continued, “My second-half performances in our Aiteo Cup campaign were amazing but this one against Camp United is also there among the best, coming off the bench to score and also assist a goal, I can only give thanks to God and my teammates,” Tiger concluded.
Aliyu who remains on the radar of a host of clubs home and abroad has scored seven goals and provided two assists in his last three games, including a brace against the CHAN Eagles in a warm-up game before their qualifiers against the Black Galaxies of Ghana.