NPL Super Six: Remo Stars, hold Enyimba in four-goal thriller

Eight-time Nigeria league champions, Enyimba, were denied a winning start in the season-ending Nigeria Premier League Super Six playoffs on Saturday.

They were held to a thrilling 2-2 draw by hard-fighting Remo Stars at the Mobolaji Johnson Sports Complex.

The People’s Elephant thought they had done enough for a victory, but they were stunned by a late equaliser by the Sky Blues, who showed a great deal of resilience coming from behind twice.

Having been housed in the same group during the regular season, Enyimba and Remo Stars knew themselves well enough, and they approached Saturday’s tie cautiously.

The Sky Blues had the first go at goal in the third minute when Nduka Junior, captain of Remo Stars, fired his shot wide from a free-kick position.

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Enyimba responded with a chance of their own in the fifth minute, but Fatai Abdullahi hit the woodwork for the People’s Elephant as the effort clearly beat goalkeeper Kayode Bankole.

After the early flashes, both teams seemingly returned to their shells, with chances coming few and far apart as the first half ended in a barren draw

During the first 45 minutes, Odubia Philip of Remo Stars was booked for a foul on Somiari Alalibo as he became the first player to enter the books in this Super Six competition.

As expected, the two teams came out smoking for the second 45 minutes.

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Emeka Obioma almost broke the deadlock when he controlled beautifully and evaded his marker; however, his sliced effort went agonisingly wide, much to the relief of goalkeeper Bankole Kayode.

The opening goal finally came just before the hour-mark; Adiele Eriugo controlled the ball beautifully inside the box to score with aplomb, thanks to Chukwuemeka Obioma’s beautiful assist.

The young striker was in a wild celebration with his teammates as he broke the deadlock for the Elephants. The Remo Stars coach looked to his bench and introduced former NPFL goal king Junior Lokosa into the game.

The decision proved spot on, as Lokosa restored parity for Remo Stars in the 75th minute after spending just a few moments on the pitch.

Remo Stars were left distraught as they conceded a penalty just after they pulled level

Chijioke Mbaoma won the penalty for Enyimba; the bulky striker muscled his way past the opposition, and eventually, he was hurled down inside the box.

Emeka Obioma took the resultant kick, and he calmly converted the ball in the 78th minute as he took his tally to 15 goals for the season.

As minutes passed, Enyimba looked to be on course for a winning start, but their hearts were broken deep into stoppage time when Nduka Junior levelled the scores for Remo Stars from a well-taken free kick.