Enugu Rangers secured their second away victory in the NPFL this season by recording a hard-fought 1-0 win over Niger Tornadoes at the Bako Kontagora stadium, Minna on Sunday.
Rangers Head Coach, Fidelis Ilechukwu returned to the dugout following a successful national assignment which saw the Super Eagles B qualify for the 2025 African Nations Championship by defeating Ghana’s Black Galaxies.
However, Ifeanyi Onyebuchi, Kazeem Ogunleye and Isaac Saviour who all represented Nigeria at the CHAN qualifiers were not included in the squad as the coach sought to rest them in order to avoid injuries.
Rangers began the game with intensity, forcing their opponents to commit errors and pushing for an opening goal. They were rewarded in the 34th minute as Bashir Usman scored the only goal of the game to seal Ranger’s second away win of the season.
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The win means Enugu Rangers remain 4th on the table with 31 points in 19 matches. Niger Tornadoes on the other hand are 9th with 24 points in the same amount of games.
In another intriguing NPFL fixture played on Sunday, Remo Stars continued their good form as they defeated Akwa United 2-1 to extend their unbeaten streak to four matches.
Remo Stars Head coach, Daniel Ogunmodede was the stand-in coach for the Super Eagles B in their CHAN qualifiers triumph, however, the tactician returned to the dugout to give added morale to his players.
Meanwhile, Kayode Bankole, Ismail Sadiq, Junior Nduka, Jide Fatokun and Sikiru Alimi all came back to watch their teammates take on Akwa United after an impressive outing with the Super Eagles B.
Shuaibu Ibrahim opened the scoring just three minutes into the game as he converted a penalty to give Remo Stars the lead before Kabir Osoba equalized prior to halftime to level the score line.
With the match headed for a draw, Tochukwu Michael took center stage as he netted an unstoppable free kick to give Remo Stars the lead in the 81st minute of the game.
The goalscorer received a standing ovation as he was substituted for Qudus Akanni in the 89th minute and his goal eventually secured all three points for the home side.
With the win, Remo Stars retain their spot at the top of the table with 36 points in 19 matches, 3 points ahead of Rivers United who have an outstanding game. Meanwhile, Akwa United drop to 19th on the table with 19 points in same number of games.
In other fixtures, El Kanemi Warriors maintained their unbeaten run at home this season by defeating Kano Pillars courtesy of a lone goal by Umar Al Amin who had just returned from the Super Eagles B CHAN qualifiers win against Ghana 24 hours earlier.
Ikorodu City defeated Sunshine Stars 2-1, in a South Western derby played behind closed doors, courtesy of a late penalty by Rivio Ayemwenre while Azeez Falolu’s goal helped Katsina United to secure a 1-0 win over bottom-placed Nasarawa United.
At the Lafia City stadium, Lobi Stars drew 0-0 against Heartland Owerri as two Super Eagles legends, Emmanuel Amuneke and Daniel Amokachi went head-to-head while Shooting Stars extended their winning streak to five games by defeating Kwara United 1-0 at the Lekan Salami sports complex to complete a perfect December where they won every game without conceding a goal.
The remaining two fixtures of the game week will see Rivers United host Plateau United on Monday as they seek for a win to mount pressure on league leaders, Remo Stars. Enyimba will host Bendel Insurance on Tuesday in Stanley Eguma’s first game in charge since replacing Yemi Olanrewaju as head coach.
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