NPFL: Nasarawa United Boxing Day Contest With Kano Pillars Ends in Stalemate

NPFL: Nasarawa United Boxing Day Contest With Kano Pillars Ends in Stalemate

The Boxing Day contest between struggling Nasarawa United and a resurgent Kano Pillars ended in a stalemate at the Lafia City Stadium yesterday.

The clash which was a rescheduled Match Day 8 of the Nigeria Professional Football League saw Kano Pillars extending their unbeaten and clean sheet run against Nasarawa United in the NPFL to 5 matches.

It was a cagey affair as Pillars controlled the early proceedings of the game. Inspirational captain, Rabiu Ali was at the thick of business pulling the strings to help his team to secure all points.

In the 12th minute, play stopped following a coming together between Abubakar Lawal and Jamil, both of Pillars which required immediate attention from the medical crew.

At the resumption of play, Pillars who were desirous in a fourth league win continued to pile more pressure on a side who have won just a league match but the visiting side were terribly poor by their standards in the final third.

In the 35th minute, Chijioke Alaekwe had the best chance of the half to put his team ahead but fired his shot wide to chagrin of the technical bench.

The home side had few chances on their own part in the first half but were unable to convert them which is synonymous to their form.

At the restart of the second half, Pillars were unrelenting to get the opener with Ali still leading the charge.

In the 52nd minute, he thought he had scored only for Nasarawa keeper Mohammed Galadima to redirect it to safety.

As the game wore on without a goal scored, emotions began to take over with the players from both sides getting booked for various offences.

In the 75th minute, Nwagwa Nyima long range shot was heading for the net but Galadima again parried the ball to safety.

In the 88th minute, Pillars had the chance to score at the death but Nyima in an unusual way aimed his shot at the goalkeeper instead.

Following this draw, Kano Pillars have climbed to 9th position on the table with 14 points from 10 games just as they have also extended their unbeaten run to 7 games after their shaky start to the league.

Meanwhile, Nasarawa Utd remain rooted at the bottom with 6 points from 10 games played.

Daily Trust