Lobi Stars have taken their pound of flesh by defeating the defending champions, Rivers United, 3-2 in the rescheduled Match Day 11 of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) match played yesterday at the New Jos Stadium, Plateau State.
In the top-of-the-table clash, Coach Stanley Eguma named an unchanged line-up to face Lobi Stars as he maintained the starting eleven that earned them a 0-0 draw against Niger Tornadoes in Kaduna on April 2.
The ‘Pride of Rivers’ who had beaten Lobi Stars 2-1 in their opening match of the season started the encounter well with the hope of closing the gap between them and their hosts but suffered a major setback when their number one goalkeeper, Victor Sochima, was sent off in the 26th minute for ball handling outside the box.
Despite the numerical advantage, Lobi Stars were unable to score as they were denied by the cross-bar and the profligacy of some of their strikers.
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On resumption, Rivers United drew the first blood when they opened the scoring in the 65th minute through Farouk Mohamed’s sublime free-kick.
However, that lead was short-lived as Abba Umar drew Lobi Stars level in the 69th minute and in the 86th minute, the hosts took the lead for the first time with their second goal from new-signing Wasiu Alalade.
Although the match appeared to be ending in favour of Lobi Stars, their former player, Nyima Nwagua, restored parity for the resilient visitors in the 90th minute.
However, two minutes into second half added time, another Lobi Stars’ new-signing, Elijah Ani, scored the winner for the former champions to open a six-point gap on the defending champions who have a game in hand.
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