NPFL: Rangers, Heartland grin narrow victories

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Rangers International striker Chidiebere Nwobodo was the hero of the day as the Flying Antelopes grinded a narrow 1-0 victory over Gombe United in Matchday 17 fixture at the FC Ifeanyi Ubah Stadium in Nnewi.

Nwobodo who fired past Gombe United’s goalie, Gideon Gambo, latched unto a defense-splitting pass from Chukwuebuka Okorie to secure all three points against the Abdul Maikaba side.

Having handed a first start to youthful Chukwuebuka Okorie and preserving the bulk of the team that earned a valuable draw in Ibadan against Shooting Stars, with Ifeanyi Nweke covering up for the injured captain Tope Olusesi, the Abdul Makaiba side nearly registered a goal two minutes into the game when Nweke dribbled past the defence to set up Nwobodo who inexplicably failed to score, with Gideon Gambo snuffing out the early threat.

Three minutes on, the the catalog of misses continued for the home side. However, the Flying Antelopes continued pressing forward for the much-needed opener but fell through after Kenechukwu Agu, Elijah Ani, Charles Tiesso, Ifeanyi Nweke all missed their chances to score prior to the end of the first half courtesy of Gideon Gambo’s reactionary saves.

The second half set in with a tricky and rejuvenated verve as the visitors sat back waiting to catch the host on the counter, with Musa Najere, Aminu Mohammed, and Yusuf Afeez waiting to pounce on an opportunity for a counter attack.

However, the only goal of the match came in the 49th minutes when Chidiebere Nwobodo scored from Okorie Chukwuebuka’s sleek pass after a penalty appeal for a tripping incident in the penalty area was waived off by the referee.

Further efforts to score more goals failed as a goalline clearance by Usman Abbas in the 78 minutes and quality saves by the shot-stopper, Gideon Gambo ensured no more goals were scored.

The win moves Rangers International to 3rd position on the log, with 28 points from 17 matches.

Heartland FC 1-0 Niger Tornadoes

Heartland FC Jonas Emmanuel scored the only goal for the Erasmus Onuh led side as they secured their third home win of the season.

Jonas strike came in the 11th minutes of the game to ensure the Naze Millionaires bounce back from their mid-week defeat with a 1-0 win over Niger Tornadoes in Owerri.

NPFL Matchday 17 Result (Saturday)

Rangers Int’l 1-0 Gombe United
Heartland FC 1-0 Niger Tornadoes

On Sunday

Rivers United vs Shooting Stars
Remo Stars Vs Sunshine Stars
Dakkada FC Vs Enyimba Int’l
Abia Warriors Vs Akwa United
Plateau United Vs Katsina United
Kano Pillars Vs Nasarawa United
Wikki Tourists Vs Lobi Stars
MFM FC Vs Kwara United

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