Linus Oota, Lafia

In their efforts to escape relegation, Nasarawa united football club on Sunday defeated Enyimba of Aba by 2 goals to nothing at the Lafia Township Stadium.

The victory still put the club on the 18th spot on the Nigerian professional football league table while Enyimba is on the seventh on the table.

Nasarawa United played with a different tempo and aggressively attacked an Enyimba side that has managed not to lose in their last four encounters.

In the 33rd minute, they broke the deadlock through Cheinedu Ohanachom who latched on the ball parried away by the Enyimba Goalkeeper to blast home from close range in the 18-yard box.

Daily Sun gathered that despite the advantage, the home team continued to attack with the determination to score another goal but failed to break the Enyimba defence till the half time whistle was blown.

In the second half, both teams came out with exciting attacking options and opened each other’s defences but made no breakthrough till the 87th minute when substitute Dauda Maigishiri received a decent pass from Haggai Katoh to place the ball in the right-hand corner of the Enyimba net for a 2-0 lead for Nasarawa United.

The state commissioner for Sports Othman Bala-Adam who was in the stadium expressed excitement over the result and the change in the on-field performance of the team which he attributed to a change in management of the club and the continuous commitment of the state government to the club.

“The loving governor is very happy and excited with the current development and I want to assure you that we are yet to see the better side of this team by the grace of God,” he said.

Fatai Osho, Head Coach of Enyimba of Aba expressed disappointment over the loss but attributed it to change in the team selection of the first eleven of the team due to its upcoming continental fixture.

“We rested some players today bearing in mind we have to play that particular match and I think in some form, that affected our performance today but we have to congratulate Nasarawa United because they also worked hard for the victory,” he said