By Ahmad Elnafaty
Abba Adam scored twice for Kano Pillars in a rescheduled Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) fixture to secure a 2-0 win over Enyimba at the Sani Abacha Stadium in Kano on Thursday.
Enyimba returned to the country on the back of a 3-1 defeat to Zamalek on the continent which led to their elimination from the CAF Confederation Cup and were hoping to put life into their campaign in the NPFL by protecting their nine-game unbeaten run.
The atmosphere inside the Sani Abacha Stadium was electric before the first ball was kicked and Pillars came close early on, with Zulkifilu Muhammad heading just off target from Rabiu Ali’s brilliant cross in the fifth minute.
Kano Pillars pressed from the front and eventually took the lead against the run of play in the 26th minute of the contest when Ibrahim Inuwa’s excellent pass released Abba Adam, who wrestled his way into a shooting position before slotting the ball into the back of the net, with Zali Abdullahi’s fingers not enough to keep the ball out.
Despite Enyimba’s attempts to equalise, Pillars held firm as Abba Adam’s goal was proved enough to be the difference heading into the interval.
The hosts maintained their momentum in the second half, with Abba Adam scoring again in the 72nd minute to double Sai Masu Gida’s lead. Abba first danced around Enyimba’s defence, leaving them in his wake before ultimately firing past Zali Abdullahi. The striker led the celebrations and decided to remove his shirt, raise it and joyfully showed the back of it to the home crowd.
It was far from a convincing performance from a fatigued Enyimba side that struggled in the final third of the field as they were not anywhere near enough to at least bag a consolation.
A thrilling finish to a match leaves Kano Pillars with 28 points from 19 matches and move Usman Abdallah’s side up to seventh, just three points off the top-four.
As for the People’s Elephants, they are down in 8th, a point behind Kano Pillars with a game in hand at Kwara United scheduled for Monday.