|
Rivers United made it six games unbeaten against Akwa United with a home win in a rescheduled Nigeria Professional Football League fixture on Thursday, while MFM FC held on for a narrow home win despite a late Nasarawa United onslaught. Goals in either half from Emeka Ogbuh and Malachy Ohawume handed Rivers a comfortable 2-0 home win against Akwa in Port Harcourt, ensuring Akwa have not recorded victory in this fixture since 2015. Both coaches freshened things up with a massive number of changes to their line-ups, with Rivers making eight changes to the team that lost away at the weekend to Katsina United. Akwa likewise made seven changes from their last league outing a fortnight ago, coincidentally against the same opponent. The Pride of Rivers went ahead on the hour-mark after CHAN Eagles star Ogbuh was fouled in the penalty area by Matthew Etim. The wideman, one of three survivors in the team from the Katsina defeat, picked himself up and made no mistake from the spot to net his third successive league goal as he gave Rivers the lead. Bakary Bamba and Ogbuh missed gilt-edged chances to double Rivers' lead in quick succession and could have been punished if substitute Adeshina Gata had not frozen when picked out in a good scoring position. Ohawume sealed the win with an 82nd-minute header past goalkeeper Ismaila Shagari as Rivers moved into sixth on the log and level on points with the Promise Keepers who dropped to fourth place, though with two games still to play. Two quick-fire first-half goals from Zinte Udeh and Julius Emiloju sealed a 2-1 home win for MFM FC against visiting Nasarawa United, a result which moved the Olukoya Boys into a mid-table position despite having played two games fewer due to CAF continental duties. Adebayo Waheed was hacked down in the opposition area as he won his side an early spot-kick, which Zinte dispatched to give MFM a seventh-minute lead. Left-back Emiloju doubled the lead two minutes later, raising hopes of a whitewash at the Agege Stadium. The home team gradually lost grip of the game, and they were duly punished late on as Ikechukwu Nwani guided in Victor Okoro's perfect cross past goalkeeper Abayomi Folarin. Abdullahi Abubakar and Nwani came close to levelling for Nasarawa in the final minutes, but on both occasions Folarin produced match-winning saves to earn MFM a third league win in five games.
|
