By Adams Jesse
Lobi Stars were held to a 1-1 draw at their adopted home ground, the Lafia City Stadium, by Kano Pillars in a Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) match on Monday.
The Makurdi side went ahead after in-form Stanley Oganbor got on the end of Waheed Adebayo’s cross to stab home the opener after five minutes.
Kano Pillars kept the pressure on the home side after going behind and their dominance yielded a goal when Suleman Idris was on hand to head home Rabiu Ali’s free kick two minutes before the break.
All moves by the home team to get the winning goal proved abortive as Kano Pillars held on to end Lobi’s 100 percent streak at their adopted home in Lafia.
Kano Pillars head coach Abdu Maikaba reacted after the game, commending his team for staying in the match despite conceding early.
“The boys did very well against an in-form Lobi Stars. Despite conceding an early goal we showed class and that’s how we pressed and got an equalizer.
“We came for the maximum points as we tried to push for the winning goal which did not come but we are good with the point,” he said.
Lobi Stars head coach Eugene Agagbe however believes it was never their day as they hit the bar three times. He took solace in the fact that the season is still a long way from its end and hopes they can dig out results elsewhere in subsequent games to make up for the lost points.
“I’m still impressed with the performance of the boys. We won away and we drew today but we will go back and work back as we will play to beat Plateau United at the weekend.
“The league is fight till the end as we have teams that have lost about two to three games at home but we’re getting a point today despite hitting the bar about three times. It is not a bad outing for us.
“The boys will continue to work hard and we will shift focus to our next game at home against Plateau United,” he said.
The draw on Monday means Lobi Stars go top of the NPFL standings with 33 points, one more than second-placed Remo Stars.