Nasarawa United continue with their fight against relegation with a convincing 2-0 win over fellow North Central Zonal rivals, Niger Tornadoes, in the 20224/25 Nigeria Premier Football League Season’s Match-day 22 clash at the Lafia City Stadium on Sunday evening.
The League’s leading goalscorer, Anas Yusuf, scored in either half of the game to give the Coach Kabir Dogo-led side their second consecutive home win since the beginning of the second stanza of the campaign at the fans-free venue.
Anas expertly converted a 3rd minute penalty he won after being found through by Abubakar Aliyu in the first-half.
The Super Eagles’ Team B attacker completed his brace of the evening after benefitting from a poorly cleared free-kick from teammate, Kabir Balogun, majestically controlling the ball before lashing it past the hapless Tornadoes’ goalkeeper, Joshua Enaholo in the 71st minute, his thirteenth goal of the season, and third perfect penalty conversion in the current campaign.
The Solid Miners’ goalkeeper, Detan Ogundare, was at his best to deny the visitors from scoring, saving thunderous shots from Daniel Akanbek, Ifeanyi Okechukwu and Sunday Akinmoladun.
The home side held firm till regulation time to scoop the maximum points off their zonal rivals, a result that boosted their chances in the battle to beat the drop zone.
With the final verdict on the deducted three points and three goals yet to be delivered, Sunday’s result means Nasarawa United are now 18th on the log with twenty-two points from twenty-two games while Tornadoes drop to 8th position with thirty points.
The Solid Miners will be on the road to confront El-Kanemi Warriors in Maiduguri, Borno State, on match-day twenty-three, on Sunday, 9th February, 2025, by 3pm.
POST-MATCH REACTIONS:
COACH KABIR DOGO(NAS): “Congratulations to all of us for this great result.
“This is a wonderful comeback for us after the disappointing result in Ibadan against Shooting Stars last midweek. We played better there than we did today, but football can be very weird; sometimes you play well and lose, and other times, you play badly and win.
“Our current position in the league isn’t good enough, so, we are giving our all to enable us redeem our image and return to the best place where we are known for on the League’s standings.
“We dedicate today’s result to our ever-present supporters and fans alike for their patience with us. We will continue to do our best to meet their expectations.
“As for our next game against El-Kanemi Warriors in Maiduguri, nothing is impossible as far as the league is concerned. Every game is possible, nobody should underrate us due to our current predicament, it’s never a permanent position, we will get out of that position and signpost our authority as the season progresses.”
COACH MAJIN MOHAMMED(TOR): “I am really surprised that my boys weren’t at their best today. Perhaps, they underrated Nasarawa United.
“The outcome of the game today shows that Nasarawa United needed the points more than we did, reason they came out smoking from the blast of the whistle, which put us under intense pressure.
“We conceded an early goal, and before we knew it, it was already difficult to get along as the game progressed.
“Nonetheless, we are building a team, we are a young side, and we don’t want to expose ourselves to any form of unnecessary pressure.
“As long as this season is concerned, we wish to assure our fans that we will do better than the previous campaign.”
ANAS YUSUF(SCORER/NAS): “I feel so excited to have scored a brace today to help my team record another win in the season, my 14th goal of the Season.
“I will continue to work hard, together with my teammates, to ensure we win more games so we can leave where we currently are for a better position on the log.”
CAUTION(YELLOW CARD):
Sabiu Ibrahim(TOR)17′
Sunday Akinmoladun(TOR)88′
NASARAWA UNITED LINE-UP: Detan Ogundare, Kabir Balogun(Abubakar Abdullahi 80′), Mubarak Hussaini, Moyi Hassan, Emeka Onyema, Benson Abbey, Anas Yusuf(Idris Ajiya 80′), Shina Kumater, Abubakar Aliyu(Benjamin Jack 80′), Ibeh Michael(Chigoziem Salomon 61′), Qamar Adegoke(Abubakar Garba 52′).
UNUSED SUBS: Mohammed Galadima, Manga Mohammed, John Joshua, Utaka Emmanuel.
CREDIT: Eche Amos(Fellow, CBS), Director of Media, Nasarawa United FC.
1 Comment
Good game from Nasarawa United yesterday