NPFL: Remo Stars, Rangers Return To Winning Ways

The reigning Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) champions, Remo Stars and Rangers International, returned to winning ways on Monday, October 6, securing wins after a shaky spell of results.

Remo Stars defeated Wikki Tourists 2-0 at the MKO Abiola Sports Arena in Abeokuta. The Sky Blue Stars, who had suffered consecutive league defeats to Plateau United and Abia Warriors, looked more purposeful as they aimed to regain their form following their CAF Champions League exit.

Despite dominating the first half, Remo Stars failed to convert several clear chances, with Olamilekan Adedayo and Ibrahim Shuaib coming close. The breakthrough eventually came in the 79th minute when Adama Goita took advantage of Ibrahim Abubakar’s cross to give the hosts the lead from close range.

With the pressure mounting on Wikki, Alex Oyowah sealed the win in the 90th minute after capitalising on a goalkeeper’s error to make it 2-0. The win lifted Daniel Ogunmodede’s side to ninth on the NPFL table with ten points from six matches.

In Enugu, Rangers International also found relief as they beat Katsina United 1-0 in a match that resumed on Monday morning after being suspended due to a downpour on Sunday.

The Flying Antelopes made their dominance count just 25 minutes into the restarted game, when Godwin Obaje converted a low cross to score the only goal of the match. Despite going down to ten men late in the game after Jerry was shown a red card for a reckless challenge, Rangers held their ground to secure all three points.

The win which is Rangers’ second of the season, saw Rangers climb from 17th to 13th on the table with eight points and a game in hand against Abia Warriors. Katsina United, who had hoped to break into the top half of the standings, stayed tenth with nine points.

Rangers will next face Abia Warriors in a rescheduled matchday four fixture on Wednesday, while Remo Stars travel to Katsina in their next outing.