Sporting Lagos came from behind to beat Plateau United 3-2 at the New Jos Stadium in the highlight of the NPFL Round 9 on Sunday. Enyimba were held 0-0 at home by Warri Wolves to remain in the bottom three, with leaders Rangers heading into CAF Champions League duty at the weekend.
Ten minutes that turned Jos
Aliyu Baba put the visitors ahead after ten minutes. Viktor Dava responded twice before the break.
Yayla led at halftime. It didn’t last.
Victor Samuel equalized eight minutes after the restart and the game turned around for good when Alex Aghahowa was sent off in the 80th minute to leave the home side with ten men; three minutes later Jacob Aondona scored the winner which gave Sporting Lagos only their second away win of the season, according to Complete Sports.
Daily Sports reported that the result extended the Lagos side’s unbeaten run to six matches. They are now third with 15 points, while Plateau, who beat Kano Pillars 4-0 a week ago, have dropped to fourth with 14 points.
Gbenga Ogunbote did not hide. “Unfortunately, we lost the lead and things fell apart,” Yayla coach told Tam Sports. He added: “It’s a good thing it happened early enough to wake us all up.”
Rain in Port Harcourt, Enyimba still stuck
Barau and Rivers United never finished in the table. Heavy rain held the game at 0-0 in the closing stages at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium and the league ordered the remaining minutes to be played the following morning. NAN’s final report carried by the Peoples Gazette indicated that the game was a goalless draw. If so, Finidi George’s side move 17 points clear of Rangers and a point ahead of the Flying Antelopes with a game in hand.
That game is against Bendel Insurance. Blueprint reported that the match was postponed to allow the Enugu club to focus on the Champions League and the decision paid off: Rangers, down to ten men after goalkeeper Lucky Jimoh’s early red card, beat MC Alger in Abeokuta 2-0 with two goals in the last six minutes from Kenneth Igbok, from the penalty spot, from Jamesmo. The return match will be played in Algeria on Friday.
In Abad, the nine-time champions drew in another gap. No goal, no victory. Enyimba are 18th with eight points from nine games, level with Ranchers Bees and six behind bottom-placed Inter Lagos.
“We played really well; we just didn’t convert a few chances,” midfielder Wonah Williams told Sports247.
Next up is a trip to Lafia and Nasarawa United will be waiting there in good form. Kelechi Ogbodo and Leonard Ugochukwu scored in Nasarawa’s 2-0 win over Inter Lagos at Onikanda, their first away win of the season.
Kano Pillars beat Katsina United 1-0 to end a five-match winless streak. “Niger Tornadoes” defeated “Ikorodu City” in Minna with a score of 2:1. Shooting Stars beat Ranchers Bees 3-1 on Friday to end their five-match winning streak and Ranchers Bees parted ways with coach Usman Abd’Allah by mutual consent two days after two wins, two draws and five defeats in nine league games. On Saturday, Abia Warriors with Kun Khalifat Doma United and Kwara United both ended 1-1.
Our vision
Nine rounds, just three points separate seventh from first. Sporting Lagos turned a promising start into a real challenge.
Enyimba is a bigger story. For the wrong reasons though. A week after we noted their slide in our Round 8 report, they added a point, while Eastern derby rivals Rangers continued to win on two fronts.
For a full list of venues hosting this season’s games, see our guide to NPFL clubs and stadiums.
This article was last revised and updated 32 seconds ago