By George Akpayen
The Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) produced another brilliant gameweek of action across nine matches. We review the major facts after Rabiu Ali once again starred in Kano Pillars’ fightback and Ikorodu City continue to worm their way into the hearts of admirers.
RABIU ALI IN SUPER RED-HOT FORM
Kano Pillars legend, Rabiu Ali, is surely one of the pick of performances from Matchweek 13. The substantive Kano Pillars captain rolled back the years over the weekend in their 2-2 draw when he fired in a 50-yard free kick past Lobi Stars goalkeeper Joseph Orya who only got a hand on the attempt withtout stopping it. Ali’s goal sparked a fightback for his side who were two goals down after Ahmadu Liman and Ossy Martins had given Lobi the lead at the Lafia City Stadium. Mustapha Umar levelled the score at 2-2 for Kano Pillars. Ali has now closed the gap to just one goal on leading scorer Anas Yusuf who has netted nine times. The Kano Pillars midfielder has now scored in all previous four league games.
ANAS YUSUF’S DROUGHT CONTINUES
Talk of contrasting form. Nasarawa United captain and talisman this season, Anas has gone quiet in the last four matches. He has now gone four matches without scoring against Rangers, Kwara United, Akwa United and Plateau United which is now 410 minutes in the NPFL. Interestingly when Anas fails to score, Nasarawa United also fail to score which makes him talismanic to the team. Just may be he could end his drought this midweek when his club play hosts to Bendel Insurance.
IBRAHIM MUSTAPHA JOINS RACE FOR TOP SCORER
El-Kanemi Warriors striker, Ibrahim Mustapha, who is popularly known as Yuga, is also laying claim to the individual prize of top scorer. The former Enyimba and Kano Pillars man scored his seventh goal of the campaign as he helped his side to another 1-0 win. Mustapha has scored a goal each in his side’s 1-0 wins over Niger Tornadoes and Katsina United, which three goals in his last four appearances. He is now two goals behind Anas.
NASARAWA UTD FAIL TO HALT POOR RUN IN JOS
The Solid Miners were far from solid at the New Jos Stadium on Sunday. Having lost all of their previous eight league meetings at Plateau United, they could not halt that dismal streak. This time they succumbed to a 2-0 defeat in the hands of their hosts via an own goal from Shina Kumater and Olawale Doyeni. Both goals came in the second half, and this further highlights why they need to get Anas back n goalscoring form.
KATSINA REMAINS DIFFICULT TERRAIN FOR REMO STARS
Title-chasing Remo Stars are definitely finding it to crack the code on how to avoid defeat at the Muhammadu Dikko Stadium whenever they meet Katsina United there. Before Sunday’s 2-0 defeat, the Sky Blue Stars had previously lost all four of their visits to that stadium. This time, they lost 2-0 to second half goals from Azeez Falolu and Boslam Dawi. The loss also means the Sky Blue Stars are on a run of three matches without win which now leaves them two points behind leaders Rivers United.
ORIENTAL DERBY PRODUCES FIRST SCORELESS DRAW IN 8 YEARS
Champions Rangers have really dominated the Oriental Derby against Heartland in recent years. Before last Saturday’s meeting at the Dan Anyiam Stadium in Owerri, Rangers had won eight of the previous 11 NPFL meetings (W8 D2 L2). However, Saturday’s 0-0 draw between both sides was the first time in eight years, six months and four days that their matchup will produce a scoreless draw. The last time, there was a 0-0 scoreline between both clubs in the league was in 2004, so we might just have to wait for may be close to another decade to witness another scoreless encounter between Heartland and Rangers.
IKORODU CITY KEEP GROWING IN LEAPS & BOUNDS
New boys Ikorodu City appear to have mastered the terrain in the NPFL since their abysmal start to their first-ever season in the top division. The Oga Boys on Saturday took a point away from the Bako Kontagora Stadium in Minna off Niger Tornadoes. They played out a 0-0 draw and thereby extended their run of good form to four matches without defeat. Surely NPFL opponents will now take City seriously going forward.
FINIDI & AMAPAKABO FIND READY-MADE EXCUSE FOR POOR FORM
It seemed Rivers United head coach, Finidi George and his Abia Warriors counterpart, Imama Amapakabo, reached some kind of consensus on using English Premier League side, Manchester City, as yardstick to measure their club’s recent poor run in the NPFL. When both men were asked about their teams’ poor run, they had ready-made answer saying if Manchester City are struggling then their clubs are also in the middle of their cold streak.