Kwara United Football Club of Ilorin on Sunday recorded their first win of the season with a 1-0 defeat of visiting Remo Stars FC of Ikenne.
The match day 5 fixture in the 2024/2025 Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) was played at the Kwara Stadium Complex in Ilorin.
The result means Remo Stars also recorded their first loss of the season.
Shola Abdulraheem’s 56th minute goal was all Kwara United needed to edge the hard-fighting visitors who had won all their opening four games in the league.
Kwara United got off strongly in the game, with the trio of Wasiu Alalade, Akeem Akanni and Junior Aimufa forcing the visitors to a cautious approach in their defence.
They had the best of their goalscoring chances in the 39th minute, but a poor finish by Akanni robbed them of taking the lead then.
Earlier, goalkeeper Nurudeen Badmus had rescued the homeside when a lack of communication between him and defender Saheed Olaniyi caused a scare.
As the game restarted, Kwara United who were bolstered with their impressive performance in the first half were handed a booster with their opponents’ reduction to 10 men.
This was when Sani Faisal, a former player of Kwara United, was sent off by the centre referee for a rash challenge on Aimufa.
With the numerical disadvantage, the hosts were presented with occasional opportunities in front of goal, but their lack of coordination in the final third was their undoing.
Remo Stars would also increase their surge forward but were met with great resistance from Kwara United’s defence.
Another major highlight of the game was when Olaniyi fell down unconscious after heading away the shot from a free-kick.
The stadium stood still as the medical team rushed to the pitch to revive him.
Both teams later introduced new legs to change the dimension of the game, with the match consequently growing more intense.
While Kwara United defended their lead, the apparently hard-fighting Sky Blue Stars were pushing for an equaliser.
The visitors however had their goalkeeper to thank for denying the hosts more goals in the twilight of the game, after having made several important saves.
For Kwara United, the victory further ignited the momentum which had been gathered from their 1-1 draw with Bayelsa United on match day four.
It earned them a lift to 13th place on the log, and they now travel to meet Abia Warriors on match day six.
