FC Babington produced a dominant display in the first leg of their Bet9ja Foundation Ex-Internationals Cup quarter-final, thrashing FC Giwa 7-0 at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena on Monday morning. The emphatic victory gives Babington a huge advantage ahead of Friday’s return leg, with substitute Farouk Salami stealing the spotlight by scoring four goals in a devastating attacking performance.
Babington opened the scoring in the 43rd minute with a stunning curling volley from Bada Moses that found the back of the net, leaving Giwa goalkeeper Isiaka Basit with no chance and concluding a tense first half. Just before the break, substitute Farouk Salami reacted quickly at the near post to extend the lead to 2-0, poking the ball home.
After the interval, Babington intensified their attack, causing Giwa’s defence to crumble. In the 47th minute, Salami took advantage of a defensive blunder between Basit and Rasak Ishola, slotting in his second goal to make it 3-0. Just three minutes later, Sodiq Akinbuyi added a fourth with a powerful volley, emphasising Babington’s dominance at 4-0.
Salami continued to shine, completing his hat-trick in the 57th minute. After receiving an excellent pass from Oyekanmi Odunayo, he skillfully manoeuvred past his defender, deceived Basit, and finished calmly to increase the score to 5-0.
Things took a turn for the worse for FC Giwa in the 70th minute when Ikechukwu Peter converted a penalty, pushing Babington’s lead to 6-0. Giwa managed to create a late chance through Patrick Onyemaka in the 81st minute. Still, Babington goalkeeper Itodo Ocheme was up to the task, maintaining the clean sheet and denying the hosts any consolation.
Salami capped off the rout with his fourth goal in the 87th minute, sealing a comprehensive 7-0 victory. His precise finishing, along with Babington’s effective transitions and set-piece execution, resulted in the most decisive outcome of the tournament thus far.