Insurance Football Club of Benin on Saturday went top of Group B2 of the Nigeria National League (NNL) after beating J. Atete FC of Warri 2-0.
The week nine match was played at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin.
Smarting from their away win in their week 8 match in Lagos, Insurance FC scored twice in the first half, through Peter Iyamu in the 23rd and 42nd minutes.
While the first goal was scored through a penalty kick, the second one was scored from a free kick after an Insurance FC player was infringed upon outside the penalty area.
With the win, Insurance lead the B2 table with 15 points, while Bayelsa United are in second place with 14 points, but with a match at hand.
Bayelsa United will on Sunday in Uyo face Cofine FC, who are currently second from the bottom of the table with 11 points.
Insurance FC will take on Bayelsa United in an away match in week 10.
It will be recalled that last season, the Benin-based Insurance FC narrowly escaped promotion to the elite division of the Nigeria league, the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL).
Meanwhile, the coach of J. Atete FC, Blancy Harry, who described the match as a good one for both sides, however blamed the referee for his side’s loss.
He however expressed optimism that his team still stood a better chance of gaining promotion in spite of the loss.
“While I commend Insurance FC who are a good side, I however can say that our loss was orchestrated by the referee who was not fair to us all through the match,” Harry said.
