Visiting Remo Stars Football Club of Ikenne defeated Wikki Tourists FC 2-1 on Sunday at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium in Bauchi in the 2021/2022 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL)
The Match Day 6 win ensured that Remo Stars maintained their top position in the league.
Remo Stars dominated much of the proceedings in the first half of the encounter, and took the lead after 11 minutes of the match through Taiwo Ojo.
After 63 minutes, Abdullahi Oyedele scored their second goal to put the match beyond the reach of the hosts.
But Salisu Adamu halved the deficit in the 75th minute, with the goal gingering Wikki Tourists to put in more efforts to get a draw at least.
Gbenga Ogunbote, the Technical Adviser of Remo Stars, said he was appreciative of God for giving his team the opportunity and edge to win against Wikki Tourists.
He said they were going to put the match behind them and plan ahead of their other matches.
Wikki Tourists’ Chief Coach, Kabiru Dogo, could not be reached for his comments on the match.
This could have been because of the fact that the team’s fans were all out blaming him for the loss, as well as his coaching style.
One of the fans, Musa Ajiya, said the coach wrongly positioned his players, even as he added that the team did well and made all efforts to equalise.
Meanwhile, Nasarawa United Football Club of Lafia edged past visiting Lobi Stars of Makurdi 2-1 in a thrilling encounter.
The match at the Lafia Township Stadium before a massive crowd saw Uche Ihurualam putting the home side ahead.
He scored in the 24th minute with a low tap-in.
Three minutes after the break, Lobi Stars hit back through Onyeka Onyebuchi.
Aliyu Abdullahi restored the home side’s advantage with a fine strike in the penalty area in the 72nd minute to secure victory for Nasarawa United.
Speaking after the game, Bala Nikyu, the Head Coach of Nasarawa United, applauded his players for getting a victory from a close contest against Lobi Stars.
“It was a good game and a hard-fought win.
”But when the league started, rumours had it that Lobi Stars were not playing well.
”However, what they played today (Sunday) shows the opposite. So, it was a good match and a hard-fought victory,” he said.
Also speaking, Emmanuel Iorsar, Head Coach of Lobi Stars, blamed his side’s loss to bad luck and commended his players for the efforts put in throughout the encounter.
“I won’t say it was a bad game. But luck was not all that on our side and we had to unfortunately concede the second goal.
”But, nevertheless, we will go back to the drawing board and put our act together to prepare properly for our next game, which is against Katsina United,” he said.
In Nnewi, Rangers International Football Club of Enugu defeated visiting MFM FC of Lagos 2-0.
In the match played at the FC IfeanyiUbah Stadium in Nnewi, Rangers’ team captain, Tope Olusesi, put the home team in front in the 16th minute.
Striker Ossy Martin made it 2-0 in the 43rd minute.
Speaking after the match, Rangers’ coach, Abdul Maikaba, praised his team for the win and urged them to keep up the good work.
“MFM FC are a good team and can pick points at any venue. But the fact that we prepared very well for them showed with the result.
“Rangers must continue to get the results and this is what I wanted from my team in our first home match against Enyimba International FC of Aba,” he said.
Rangers’ first home match of the season at their adopted home ground in Nnewi ended in a 1-0 defeat against Enyimba.
Speaking also after the match, Enugu State Commissioner for Youths and Sports, Manfred Nzekwe, noted that Rangers had been living up to expectations.
“The two teams in the match were wonderful, but we thank God that Rangers did what they were supposed to do by picking the maximum points of the match.
“We feel at home here and Rangers are doing what they know best.
”But we know the league is a marathon, and the way results are coming in, I believe that Rangers will end the league in a respectable position,” Nzekwe said.
The win lifted Rangers into third position on the league table with 11 points.
They are behind Remo Stars of Ikenne and Rivers United of Port Harcourt who are first and second with 14 and 12 points respectively.
