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Twist And Turns In Nigeria’s Premier League Continues –
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
It has been a season never before in Nigeria’s lead football league, the NPL. Twenty seven match days are gone in a scheduled 38 match day series, no clear leader has emerged.
The competitiveness is underlined by the fact that all the teams top five bracket and even Doma United now in the 13th position have at one time or the other being in the first position.
Unpredictability could be the apt word, making the season on of the most keenly contested. The keenness is underlined by the fact that just four points separate the current table-toppers, Enugu Rangers and the fifth placed Plateau United.
With most of the clubs having eleven more matches to go, the title is still open and swinging.
The home grounds are no longer sacred. Enyimba travelled to the fortress of Shooting Stars and scrapped a victory. Remo Stars were at the Aba slaughter house of Enyimba and did not only escape defeat, they got a win as they did in the creeks of Bayelsa.
Buoyed with such record, any bookmaker would have tipped them to upstage struggling Sporting Lagos some weeks ago. Alas! Adios predictability, bye bye to form books.
Like a pack of cards blown by the hurricane, Remo Stars fell 4-1 to hitherto goal-shy Sporting Lagos. If they boast of never being defeated by their South West rivals, Shooting Stars, that came to an end when they met penultimate Sunday in Ibadan.
Now, clubs can dream dreams of picking valuable points on the road instead of making just their home game a do-or-die situation.
Plateau United can go to Owerri and inflict a massive 5-1 blow on the season’s punching bag, the faint-hearted Heartland FC.
With lower level of restiveness from the crowd, even if they don’t often agree with refereeing decisions, the calmer atmosphere can enable more corporate support and investment on the league in the coming seasons.
Matchday 27 continues this Monday as Shooting Stars who have navigated their way upstream from a near drop zone to continental ticket contenders will be away to Niger Tornadoes.
At the weekend, Remo Stars had one of their most anticipated rare victories as they beat their eternal rivals, Bendel Insurance 2-0 in Ikenne.
It was the 10th encounter of the two arch rivals and more often than not, the result had always been in Bendel Insurance’ favour. Prior to Sunday’s epic clash, Remo Stars only defeat of Bendel Insurance was at the Super 6 in Lagos last June.
They now have a bragging rights against the Benin Arsenals. Victory did not come on a platter of gold as the 2-0 scoreline may suggest.
They had to dig deep into their armoury before Olamilekan Adedayo found the net. Two minutes to regulation time, Haruna Hadi put in the second goal.
Apart from the Super 6 last season which was a play-off, it is the first time Remo Stars had beaten Bendel Insurance in the regular season since 2019.
Like Remo Stars who rose from their 2-0 loss in Ibadan, Kano Pillars also returned to winning ways beating Sporting Lagos 1-0 in Kano.
Initial table-topper, Lobi Stars dropped valuable points at home when they laboured to hold Bayelsa United 1-1. The result gave the edge to Enugu Rangers who heartlessly compounded the woes of Heartland of Owerri with an away 2-1 win Owerri.
In a Savanah derby, former frontrunners now finding the league too tasking, Doma United played 1-1 with Gombe United. In Ilorin, the ambition of Enyimba to top the league got a setback when Kwara United inflicted a 2-1 defeat.
No fewer than five clubs in the Nigeria Premier League will be eliminated this week from the President Federation Cup.
At the moment, 11 of the 17 premier league clubs are on course as the knock-out competition gets to the Round of 32.
Undoubtedly, the non-application of seeding has seen five fixtures pitching the top clubs together while another five pitched lower division clubs against one another.
The remaining six pairings have premier league clubs facing lower ranked teams. These include: relegation-threatened Akwa United facing Zamfara United in Abuja and Gombe United facing former top division sides, El-Kanemi Warriors in Kaduna.
Another ‘mixed fixture’ will see Premier sides, Kwara United facing Warri Wolves while Abia Warriors will face Sporting Supreme of the FCT.
Premier sides, Bendel Insurance will face Wikki Tourists of Bauchi as Enyimba are pitched against Akwa Ibom’s FC Rockets.
But nothing is guaranteed to the Premier League sides as knockout competitions are replete with underdogs upstaging power houses.
No matter the situations, five of the Premier League are doomed for elimination. Former champions Lobi Stars and Shooting Stars in a “Star War” in Awka.
Plateau United and Sunshine Stars are meeting in Abuja just as Rivers United will face fellow Premier League sides, Niger Tornadoes in Auchi.
Katsina United and Bayelsa United will play in Abuja while Doma United face Kano Pillars in Bauchi.
MEN’S ROUND OF 32 FIXTURES
Bendel Insurance (Edo) Vs Wikki Tourists (Bauchi) – Abuja Area 3 – 22/05/24 – 4pm
EFCC FC (FCT) Vs Edel FC (Anambra) – Ilorin – 22/05/24 – 4pm
ABS FC (Kwara) Vs Kebbi United (Kebbi) – Abuja Goal Project – 23/05/24 – 4pm
Akwa United (Akwa Ibom) Vs Zamfara United Feeders (Zamfara) – Abuja Bwari – 23/05/24 – 4pm
Gombe United (Gombe) Vs El-Kanemi Warriors (Borno) – Kaduna – 22/05/24 – 4pm
Lobi Stars (Benue) Vs Shooting Stars (Oyo) – Awka – 22/05/24 – 4pm
Ikorodu City (Lagos) Vs Coal City (Enugu) – Benin City – 23/05/24 – 4pm
Hammola Int’l (Osun) Vs Inter Lagos (Lagos) – Ibadan – 22/05/24 – 4pm
Warri Wolves (Delta) Vs Kwara United (Kwara) – Enugu – 22/05/24 – 4pm
Abia Warriors (Abia) Vs Sporting Supreme (FCT) – Benin City – 22/05/24 – 4pm
Nasarawa United (Nasarawa) Vs Sokoto United (Sokoto) – Kano – 22/05/24 – 4pm
FC One Rocket (Akwa Ibom) Vs Enyimba FC (Abia) – Yenagoa – 22/05/24 – 4pm
Plateau United (Plateau) Vs Sunshine Stars (Ondo) – Abuja Goal Project – 22/05/24 – 4pm
Rivers United (Rivers) Vs Niger Tornadoes (Niger) – Auchi – 22/05/24 – 4pm
Katsina United (Katsina) Vs Bayelsa United (Bayelsa) – Abuja Bwari – 22/05/24 – 4pm
Doma United (Gombe) Vs Kano Pillars (Kano) – Bauchi – 22/05/24 – 4pm
Banyana Banyana game plan was to either beat the Super Falcons at home as they did two years ago in Lagos or earn a draw in Friday’s first leg match of Olympic qualifier in Abuja.
That did not happen as Rasheedat Ajibade’s penalty kick earned Nigeria an outright 1-0 win over South Africa – a first win since the Super Falcons’ 1-0 win in Limbe, Cameroon in 2016.
But according to an account in the South African Football Association website, “Banyana Banyana will have to give it all in the second leg.”
It reported that Banyana Banyana came back from the first half break a much more improved side but failed to convert the few chances that came their way.
“Outstanding goalkeeper Kaylin Swart had to work overtime to deny the hosts from extending their lead.
“Despite creating numerous chances for an equaliser, the game ended 1-0 for the Super Falcons.”
The two African giants will lock horns for the second leg on Tuesday at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria where coach Desiree Ellis’ charges will be hoping to overturn the deficit.
Coach Ellis believes they are still in the game and can turn things around in the second leg on Tuesday.
“Look, we said it was going to be a tight game but we are hopeful of overturning this result in the second leg.”
“We are still in the game. We created a couple of chances, a penalty decided the match but the game is not over.
“I thought in the second half we raised our game a lot and created good chances and could have equalized.
“Maybe we could also have gotten a penalty at the end when Jermaine was fouled but I’m very proud of the team and we will take it back to Pretoria,” said Ellis.
Nigeria’s Super Falcons beat Banyana Banyana of South Africa 1-0 in their first leg of the final qualifiers for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The return leg comes up on Tuesday in Pretoria.
The South Africans consider the result a good one going into the final qualifier.
Skipper of the side, Rasheedat Ajibade scored the lone goal from a penalty spot in the 43rd minute.
It is Nigeria’s first outright defeat of South Africa since 2018 when Nigeria excelled in an ensuing penalty shootout after a goalless draw in the final match of the Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana.
In their next two matches.
First, they pulled off a big upset beating Nigeria 4-2 to win the Aisha Buhari Cup in Lagos in September 2021 and followed up with another 2-1 win in a Group C match at the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
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