Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC) of Ibadan on Sunday ended the unbeaten run of El-Kanemi Warriors Football Club of Maiduguri in the ongoing 2024/2025 Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL).
In their Match Day 11 fixture at the Lekan Salami Stadium in Ibadan, the Shooting Stars dominated the game’s early proceedings.
But they were prevented from scoring by the visiting goalkeeper until Samuel Ayanrinde headed in Monday Gideon’s pullout in the 26th minute.
The Oluyole Warriors doubled their lead through Aliyu Abubakar’s 37th minute goal to make it an evening of back-slappings for the hosts who have had difficulties scoring goals so far.
Substitute Mustapha Adams extended their lead in the 61st minute of the game.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the win took the hosts to 10th place on the NPFL log from 15th, with 15 points from 11 matches.
Gbenga Ogunbote, the club’s Head Coach, later told newsmen during the post-match news conference that the victory would enhance his players’ confidence.
He went on to add that the recent return of some of the club’s players who went abroad for trials would be a blessing to the team’s aspirations.
“It will make the team’s defenceline to be more solid,” the coach said.
Speaking also, Aliyu Zubairu, the Head Coach of El-Kanemi Warriors, lamented that his team played below their standard.
“I can not attribute our low performance to any reason, because winning or losing is normal in football.
“But I must say that we have not been moved or flattered by our unbeaten status until today because it did not change anything,” he said.
