The 13th match-day of the NPFL swelled with fun and action through the weekend.

Three days of non-stop football action made football-savy-Nigerians appreciate the beauty of the NPFL.

At the end of league actions across all 10 centres in the country, 25 goals were recorded with Kano Pillars scoring over 20% of the goals after putting 6 past 3SC.

Enyimba became the second team based in Abia to out Akwa United to the sword at the Nest of Champions in Uyo.

Rangers returned to the summit of the league table after another home win as Ifeanyi Ubah relinquished that spot with a loss away at Wikki.

Enjoy my review of the just concluded match-day 13:

Rangers 2–1 Nasarawa United FC (Booby Clement 23’, Obinna Nwobodo 69’ – Seun Sogbeso pen 76’)

Enugu Rangers kicked off activities this weekend, against Nasarawa United at a packed Nnamdi Azikwe stadium on Friday Night.

I must say that Rangers Int’l are showing title credentials already. The game ended 2 – 1 in favour of Imama Amapakabo’s Rangers.

Booby Clement opened scoring in the 23rd minute for Rangers. Obinna increased their advantage in the 69th minute before Seun Sogbeso cut Nasarawa’s deficit from the spot in the 76th minute to make for a nervy finish.

Consequentially, Ranger remain top of the league table, a point clear-off second placed Abia Warriors.

El-Kanemi Warriors 1-0 Ikorodu United (Ibrahim Mustapha pen 24’ )
Laden Bosso’s El-Kanemi compounded on Ikorodu United’s misery with a 1 – 0 victory in Maiduguri.

Having just recently returned home, El-Kanemi are making the most of their return and with fans pouring into the venue en masse, it was always going to be hard for Ikorodu United to get any kind of result other than a defeat. Ibrahim Mustapha grabed he winner with a 24th minute penalty.

The result means El-Kanemi are 13th on the log while the Oga Boys remained rooted to the foot of the table.

Heartland FC 1-0 Sunshine Stars (Ifeanyi Onuigbo 55’)
In Owerri, Heartland narrowly saw off a rejuvenated Sunshine Stars. Ifeanyi Onuigbo’s solitary effort was the difference in a tightly contested encounter.

Kano Pillars 6–0 Shooting Stars (Ifeanyi Matthew 11’, Emmanuel Edmund 37’ 58’ 82’, Adamu Mohammed 90+’, Nafiu Ibrahim 90+1’ )

Kano Pillars were in sixth heaven with an absolutely emphatic display to comprehensively defeat Shooting Stars 6 – 0 at the Sani Abacha Stadium in Kano.

On his return to this former hunting ground, Kadiri Ikhana wasn’t spared. His side, Shooting Stars were pelted with goals from every corner without any response.

Ifeanyi Mattew opened the floodgate in 11th minute, only for Emmanuel Edmund to bag a sensational hatrick, to make it 4 – 0. With time already running out, fans who left the stadium would curse themselves for leaving too early.

Adamu Mohamed and Nafiu Ibrahim scored in two minutes to make it 6 – 0.

More just a statement of intent, Kano Pillars are aiming to make sure the Sani Abacha stadium becomes a fortress again. Now, Kano Pillars are 4th on the table, 3 points behind the leaders and also with a game in hand.

Plateau United FC 2–1 Rivers United (Benjamin Turba 14’ – Chinonso Oknonkwo 80’)
Plateau United recorded a hard-earned 2 – 1 victory over Rivers United.

After taking the lead in the 14th minute, Chinonso Okonkwo pulled level in 80th minute. With the tie almost looking to end in a draw, Plateau United grabbed a late winner, to move up to 12th on the log.

Warri FC 2–0 Giwa FC (Goodluck Onomado 10’, John Odumegwu)
Goodluck Onomado and John Odumegwu handed the Seasiders, Warri Wolves 2 – 0 over Gbenga Ogunbote’s Giwa FC. Warri Wolves moved to eight on the log, with 19 points, after the victory.

Wikki Tourist 3-0 FC Ifeanyi Ubah (Godwin Obaje 30’, Abubakar Lawal 50’ 79’)

Wikki Tourist surprised everyone with a commanding display over Ifeanyi Ubah, that saw them record an impressive 3 – 0 victory over the money bags. Godwin Obaje opened scoring in the 30th minute as Abubakar Lawal’s 2nd-half brace completed the scoring for Wikki to condemn Ifeanyi Ubah to yet another defeat on the road and drop from 1st to 3rd on the log.

Abia Warriors 3–1 MFM FC (Uche Ihuarula 3’, Stanley Okoro 65’ Ndifreke Effiong pen 74’ – Kenedium 90+’)

Kenedy Boboye’s Abia Warriors weren’t in jovial mood when MFM FC came visiting and handed the visitors a 3 – 1 defeat. Abia Warriors flew out of the block in the 3rd minute through Uche Ihuarula’s goal.

They took that lead into the second half. Stanley Okoro “little Messi” who just return to the country from Europe made his presence count has he score Abia’s second goal of the day.

Ndifreke Effiong made it 3 -0 from 12 yards, in the 17th minute before Kenedium scored a consolation goal for MFM late into added time.

Lobi Stars 1–0 Niger Tornadoes(Tony Okpotu 90+’)
Tony Okpotu late penalty broke the opposition, Niger Tornadoes’ resolve as well as their heart, to earn Lobi Stars a 1 – 0 win. The goal took Tony Okpotu’s goal tally to 7.

Akwa United 0 – 1 Enyimba (Christian Pyagbara 38’)
In the last game of the weekend, live on TV at the magnificent Godswill Akpabio Int’l stadium, Akwa United welcomed Enyimba of Aba, who were fresh from their CAF Champions League triumph in Tunisia during the week.

The home side were confident getting a result as recent results against The Peoples Elephant as always gone their way. Unfortunately for Akwa United, Enyimba won the game 0 – 1.

The goal was scored by Christian Pygbara in the 38th minute after a swift counter attack. Although Enyimba were wrongly denied a penalty in the 2nd half, they owe their victory to the standout perforemance of the captain, Udoji who was at his very best to say the least.

However impressive that win was, Enyimba remain 19th on the league table but with four outstanding games. They have accrued only 12points in the league, which needs to improve drastically. But if there is any team that can make such drastic change of position in weeks, it’s definitely Enyimba.

FULL SCORES
Rangers 2–1 Nasarawa United

EL-Kanemi Warriors 1–0 Ikorodu Warriors

Heartland FC 1–0 Sunshine Stars

Kano Pillars 6–0 Shooting Stars

Plateau FC 2–1 Rivers United

Warri FC 2–0 Giwa FC

Wikki Tourist 3–0 FC Ifeanyi Ubah

Abia Warriors 3–1 MFM FC

Lobi Stars 1–0 Niger Tornadoes

Akwa United 0–1 Enyimba

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NPFL Roundup done by Adebiyi Tobi, who can be reached via @THETOBBI