Nasarawa United Football Club on Sunday continued its quest for a continental slot next season by beating Adamawa United Football Club by a lone goal in Lafia.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 2020/2021 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) Match day 24 encounter was a close contest with the only goal scored in the 37th minute by Ebuka Anaekwe.
Anaekwe received a pass from a team mate, ran freely into the 18-yard box and unleashed a left footed shot into the left hand corner of the net to hand the home team the lead and only goal.
NAN reports that despite their poor form this season, the Adamawa United players fought back valiantly but could not break the defence of Nasarawa United marshalled by Tebo Franklin, whose brilliant performance earned him the ‘Man of the Match’ award by journalists in the stadium.
Speaking after the encounter, Justine Madugu, Head Coach of Adamawa United FC , who said the match was competitive and that both teams gave good accounts of themselves, rued the missed opportunities for his team, which he blamed on the nature of the pitch.
“You can see the field slightly affected the players because they kept falling and they couldn’t get themselves together and that was what frittered the chances we had in the first half that we did not utilize,” he said.
Also speaking to newsmen, Bala Nikyu, Nasarawa United’s head coach, again repeated his previous stance that the club’s focus was to end the season in one of the top two positions on the NPFL log table.
He congratulated his team for grinding out another home win, but cautioned that despite the elevation of the team to third on the log table, more work was still needed especially on away games, so as to meet the target the club had set for itself.
“For now, any position a team is occupying is not permanent because we still have matches to play. The truth is that it is getting tougher and any point you pick at home and away is as important as winning the league.
“Third position for now is not what we are looking for. We are still looking for more wins so that we can be more comfortable,” he said. (NAN)
