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2020/2021 NPFL Ends with 5 Clubs Seeking 2 Tickets, 4 others Fighting Relegation
The 2020/2021 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) season ends on Thursday with many high points to look forward to, even without the competition’s title at stake.
The season began on Dec. 27, and it has trudged on since in spite of issues of the absence of title sponsors as well as the accumulation of match indemnities and other entitlements to match officials.
It will now come to an end (at least for this season) with Match Day 38 fixtures at 10 venues on Thursday.
Akwa United Football Club of Uyo have won the title since Match Day 37 on Sunday, after whipping MFM FC of Lagos 5-2 to move to 71 points for an unassailable nine-point lead.
But much is still at stake, with qualification tickets for the 2021/2022 CAF Champions League and 2021/2022 CAF Confederation Cup on the line, as well as relegation to the lower league.
The position of second-placed Nasarawa United of Lafia is under threat and they may miss the chance to join Akwa United in qualifying for the 2021/2022 CAF Champions League.
A win will however take them far away from the chasing pack of third-placed Kano Pillars, fourth-placed Rivers United, fifth-placed Enyimba International and sixth-placed Kwara United.
But each of all the five clubs have a chance, provided they win and their nearest rivals lose, with one CAF Champions League ticket and one Confederation Cup ticket at stake.
With all five of them playing away, the situation is unpredictable and only those who can grab away wins will pick the tickets to play on the continent.
FC IfeanyiUbah and Adamawa United are already relegated, but the other two to join them can be any two of Warri Wolves, Sunshine Stars, Wikki Tourists and Jigawa Golden Stars.
Warri Wolves need more than a win to escape the drop, while Sunshine Stars and Wikki Tourists need to just win to scale through.
But that will be if Jigawa Golden Stars do not draw or win at MFM FC.
Two clubs are to join the duo of Adamawa United and FC IfeanyiUbah in dropping to the Nigeria National League (NNL) for the 2021/2022 season.
On the other hand, the second-placed team will join winners Akwa United in playing in the 2021/2022 CAF Champions League, while the third-placed team will play in the 2021/2022 CAF Confederation Cup.
CURRENT STANDINGS
Pos TEAM P W D L GD Pts
1. Akwa United 37 19 14 4 +30 71
2. Nasarawa United 37 20 5 12 +19 65
3. Kano Pillars 37 19 7 11 +10 64
4. Rivers Utd 37 18 9 10 +13 63
5. Enyimba International 37 17 12 8 +6 63
6. Kwara United 37 18 8 11 +17 62
7. Rangers International 37 17 8 12 +16 59
8. Lobi Stars 37 16 7 14 +3 55
9. Plateau United 37 14 9 14 +12 51
10. Dakkada FC 37 15 5 17 –8 50
11. Katsina United 37 14 7 16 –4 49
12. MFM FC 37 12 12 13 –3 48
13. Heartland FC 37 12 9 16 – 8 45
14. Abia Warriors 37 11 11 15 –4 44
15. Jigawa G/Stars 37 11 10 16 –15 43
16. Wikki Tourists 37 11 9 17 –10 42
17. Sunshine Stars 37 10 12 15 –12 42
18. Warri Wolves 37 11 8 18 –14 41
19. FC IfeanyiUbah 37 8 12 17 –18 36
20. Adamawa United 37 5 10 22 –33 25
Match Day 38 Fixtures
Abia Warriors vs Nasarawa United
Dakkada FC vs Enyimba International
Rangers International vs Plateau United
Heartland FC vs Kano Pillars
FC IfeanyiUbah vs Warri Wolves
Kwara United vs Katsina United
Lobi Stars vs Akwa United
MFM FC vs Jigawa Golden Stars
Sunshine Stars vs Rivers United
Wikki Tourists vs Adamawa United
Results from last Match Day 37
Akwa United 5-2 MFM FC
Plateau United 2-0 Dakkada FC
Katsina United 1-0 Abia Warriors
Warri Wolves 1-0 Heartland FC
Rivers United 3-1 Lobi Stars
Enyimba International 1-1 Sunshine Stars
Nasarawa United 3-0 Rangers International
Adamawa United 0-2 Kwara United
Kano Pillars 1-0 Wikki Tourists
Jigawa Golden Stars 3-0 FC IfeanyiUbah
(NAN)
A penalty kick awarded late in the game on Sunday helped hosts Kwara United Football Club of Ilorin to a 1-0 win over Katsina United.
The win was in a match day 18 encounter in the 2024/2025 Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL), played at the Kwara Stadium Complex.
The hosts did dominate possession, especially in the first half, but they struggled and failed to convert their goal scoring chances.
Junior Aimufua and Issa Gatta posed occasional threats from the flanks but were unable to break the deadlock.
The first half saw Kwara United losing Akeem Akanni who was forced out of the game due to injury and was subsequently replaced by Sodeeq Yusuf before the break.
The second half saw relentless pressure from Kwara United in the search for a goal, but Katsina United employed delay tactics to disrupt the flow of the game.
However, substitute Ismail Gatta, who replaced Wasiu Alalade in the 53rd minute, became the hero in the 87th minute after confidently converting a penalty kick.
This was after a Katsina United defender was adjudged to have handled the ball in the penalty area, sparking wild celebrations from the home crowd.
Kwara United’s Head Coach, Tunde Sanni, later insisted that his side was still a work in progress even though he praised their resilience against a tough Katsina United.
“We are proud of the young players we are using. Modern football favours youthful energy over big names,” he said.
Sanni also assured the club’s fans that Akanni’s injury was minor and he should return to action soon in about one or two weeks.
Report says that Kwara United are now in 11th place on the log with 23 points, and an outstanding home game against Enyimba International of Aba.
They will face the Shooting Stars in Ibadan on Sunday in their final match day fixture in the first stanza of the league.(NAN)
Dominic Solanke’s brace helped Tottenham Hotspur edge a rip-roaring League Cup quarter-final game with Manchester United by a 4-3 win.
The win ensures that Tottenham are still in hunt of a first trophy since 2008.
Spurs were in cruise control when Solanke rifled home his second in the 54th minute to add to his first-half opener and Dejan Kulusevski’s effort 46 seconds into the second half.
Tottenham’s back-up goalkeeper Fraser Forster pressed the self-destruct button, though, as his two errors set up a nervy finale.
First Manchester United substitute Joshua Zirkzee tapped in after Forster’s pass out from the back had been intercepted before Amad Diallo blocked his clearance to make it 3-2 with 20 minutes left.
Ange Postecoglou’s men were teetering on the brink of collapse at this point, but captain Son Heung Min scored directly from a corner with two minutes left despite protestations from keeper Altay Bayindir.
It ensured Jonny Evans’ stoppage-time header was a mere consolation as Spurs march on towards the semi-finals.
The loss left Ruben Amorim to pick the bones out of the third defeat of his short tenure. (dpa/NAN)
Nasarawa United Football Club of Lafia on Saturday defeated Lobi Stars of Makurdi 1-0 in a pulsating North Central derby.
The matchday 16 fixture of the 2024/2025 Nigeria Premiere Football League (NPFL) was played at the Lafia Township Stadium, Nasarawa State capital.
The Makurdi side had adopted the Lafia Township Stadium as their home ground for the 2024/2025 NPFL season.
The only goal of the match was scored by Qamar Adegoke in the 12th minute of the match to give all three points to the Lafia side.
Adegoke’s goal, who joined the Lafia team recently, was his second in four matches.
The Nasarawa attacker capitalised on a defensive error by the opponent’s backline and hit the back of the net to give Nasarawa United the advantage.
In a post-match interview, Kabir Dogo, Technical Adviser of Nasarawa United, hailed his players for taking all three points.
He explained that his team had improved by scoring five goals in their last three matches and expressed optimism that they would do better in subsequent games.
“We had a problem in the area of goal scoring in the past, but this has changed in our last three games,” he said.
With the win, Nasarawa United climbed to 14th on the NPFL table, while Lobi Stars remain on 17th position. (NAN)
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