BY ORI MARTINS, Dan Anyiam Stadium Owerri

I expected the Sunday, February 16, 2025, Premier League match between Heartland of Owerri and Shooting Stars of Ibadan at the Dan Anyiam Stadium, to be tough and tension-soaked.

Shooting Stars have a rich history that is more than six decades old. Heartland used to be one of the most respected teams in the country.

As Spartans, they played to the final of the WAFU Cup in 1982 when WAFU used to be respected and had sub-regional cult following. As Iwuanyanwu Nationale, they were five times Nigerian league champions and in 1988 played to the final of the elusive CAF Champions League.

Since metamorphosing into Heartland, they have been Federation Cup winners twice as well as grabbing silver in the Champions League.

The two coaches, Emmanuel Amuneke and Gbenga Ogunbote have proved their worth in their previous duty posts, respectively. Amuneke in the junior national teams, and Ogunbote, with various Premier League clubs.

 Thus, the stage was set for a beautiful game to be enjoyed by the fans.

The two sides were equal to the challenges of the day. Heartland dominated the midfield in the first half while Shooting Stars adapted the long ball strategy to frustrate their host’s dominance in the midfield.

Eventually, Heartland got the curtain raiser before the end of the first half.

However, the referee, Kolawole Emmanuel from Kwara State Sports Council, could not effectively control the game in the second half.

Heartland attackers made the Shooting Stars defence to look ordinary but were on several occasions denied by the ever-calculating goalkeeper of the visitors who combined Emmanuel Okala’s alertness, Best Ogedegbe’s calmness, and Vincent Enyeama’s agility.

About the 84th  minute, the referee committed one of those blunders very clearly associated with most Nigerian referees.

He signalled for a penalty for a foul committed outside the penalty box. It was a most shameful act. It was one of those actions of Nigerian referees that certainly made CAF not shortlist them for continental assignments, particularly the Nations Cup.

When was it last that a Nigerian referee participated in any FIFA-organized competitions?

If not for the maturity of Owerri fans who comported themselves accordingly, the situation would have gone out of hand and the worse might have happened. Thus, why did the referee make that kind of dubious decision?

The authorities of the Nigeria Premier League and the NFF must always ensure that the bad eggs in the Nigeria Referee Association are shown the exit door to make the Nigerian League better, bigger, and more attractive.

The game eventually ended 2- 1 as the referee awarded a penalty to Heartland which was taken twice following the insistence of the referee that Shooting Stars goalkeeper moved before the first penalty was taken.

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From near anonymity, on the Nigeria Premier Football League log, Enugu Rangers have bounced into the reckoning as title contenders after their 2-1 defeat of front runners, Remo Stars of Ikenne.  

In the aftermath, it was revenge for a similar scoreline that Remo Stars inflicted on the league’s defending champions last September in Ikenne.

In the process, Remo Stars’ 77-day winning streak as well as unbeaten run came to an end. Until Sunday, Remo Stars had had an unbeaten run that spanned eight matches, seven of which they won.

They had hoped to add Enugu Rangers to the list of teams that they had achieved double against.

Before Saturday’s loss, Remo Stars had won home and away against teams like Akwa United, Abia Warriors, Sunshine Stars and Kano Pillars.

The loss notwithstanding, they still have a massive eight points ahead of their closest rivals, Shooting Stars.

In a match laced with keenness, Enugu Rangers broke the tie in the  30th minute through Isaac Saviour. The hosts doubled the lead in the 49th minute through Kingsley Maduforo.

With the match going to a close, Remo Stars bounced back and pulled a goal back through Hadi Haruna. They are known as masters of come-back as they had done against Abia Warriors when they came back from two-goal down to win 3-2 and also came from a goal down to beat Akwa United 2-1 in Uyo.

This time, Enugu Rangers averted that as they defended fiercely their dicey lead in the match.

The win catapulted the Enugu team into the third position, pulling Rivers United down to the fourth.

In Owerri, Shooting Stars hope to narrow the gap between them and the front runners, Remo Stars also faced a brick wall. They lost 2-1 to fast-improving Heartland.

Chukwuma Agor put Heartland ahead in the 30th minute before Shooting Stars levelled up from a penalty spot converted by Adam Mustapha in the 80th minute.

But their joy of scraping a point was cut short when John Bassey converted a penalty kick for Heartland in the 88th minute.

In Benin, the cycles of home teams’ victories was completed when Bendel Insurance beat Niger Tornadoes 3-0.

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Initial front runners, Rivers United have gone 10 points adrift from their initial rivals after losing 1-0 to Enyimba. It was an encounter in which both coaches had swapped positions from their last season’s duty posts.

Last season, Stanley Eguma who now manages Enyimba was with Rivers United while the current helmsman in Rivers United, Finidi George was Enyimba’s coach.

For Enyimba it is a return to winning ways as Imo Obot scored the decisive goal in the 41st minute.

In Ilorin, Kwara United returned to their winning ways after they beat Bayelsa United 1-0. Wasiu Jimoh’s 78’ minute goal lifted the Ilorin side to seventh position on the log.

Ikorodu City played a goalless draw away to Nasarawa United while Plateau United beat El Kanemi 2-0.

In Ikenne, the adopted home ground for Sunshine Stars, it was a battle of relegation candidates. Sunshine won 1-0 but still remained in the relegation zone.

Sunshine Stars are in the 17th position while Akwa United are 18th.

• Enyimba 1-0 Rivers United
• Kwara United 1-0 Bayelsa United
• Lobi Stars 1-1 Bayelsa United
• Nasarawa United 0-0 Ikorodu City
• Plateau United 2-0 El Kanemi
• Sunshine Stars 1-0 Akwa United

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