Lobi Stars head coach, Eugene Agagbe, has hailed his team’s show of character to beat Katsina United 2-0 in a NPFL Week 23 fixture at the Lafia Stadium to return to the top of the league table.
Two second-half goals from John Victor and Alao Dabani were all Lobi Stars needed to sink the visitors.
In a post-match interview, Agagbe acknowledged his lads’ resilience, which he said was key to the victory, and promised to guide them through the beautiful journey they have embarked upon.
He said, “I thank my players. They have shown strong character and say they want to win the league. What they have exhibited today is an indication that they want to go somewhere, and by the special grace of God, we shall continue to fight.
“As I have always said, the league is getting tougher, and we will do better in our next game as well,” Agagbe said.
Lobi Stars drew inspiration from the consistent cheering by home fans from the stands and unsettled coach Abubakar Bala’s side with a series of attacks, but goalkeeper Pius Ibrahim stopped Alao Dabani, Samuel Tiza, and Ahmadu Liman’s efforts during the stalemated first half.
However, there was a dramatic twist in the second half of the keenly contested tie when mid-season signing Victor broke the deadlock through a well-taken freekick to record his first goal for the Makurdi-based side in the 70th minute.
The former Warri Wolves centre-back capitalised on Emmanuel Okoko’s foul on Harmony Ikande close to the opponent’s 18-yard box to put his team 1-0 up.
Thirteen minutes later, Dabani scored his third goal of the season to double the lead via another sublime freekick from Victor to nod the ball beyond helpless goalkeeper Ibrahim for a 2-0 lead.
The ‘Chanji Boys’, as the visitors are fondly called, came all out to reduce the deficit but met solid defending from the ‘Yes Father Boys’, back line of Moses Tsehuan, Sunday Chinedu, John Victor, and Monday Akile, who remarkably kept Emmanuel Jonas, Andrew Idoko, and Nazifi Yahaya at bay till full time.
The result has taken the Shoe Get Size Boys back to the top of the NPFL table with 42 points.
Next for the Lobi Stars in the Nigerian top flight is their matchday 24 trip to the Abia Warriors this weekend.
Matchday 23
02-03-2024
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03-03-2024
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04-03-2024
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05-03-2024
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09-05-2024
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SOURCE: GLOBALSPORTS