The Shooting Stars FC of Ibadan on Tuesday defeated Bendel Insurance FC of Benin City 2-1 at the start of the Nigeria National League (NNL) play-offs in Enugu.
The match, played at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu, saw Daniel Benjamin opening scoring for Bendel Insurance from a spot kick, in the 15th minute of the game.
Ayodeji Malomo equalised for 3SC in the 27th minute, while Raheem Nafiu sealed the win for the Ibadan side in the 83rd minute of the match.
Speaking at the end of the match, 3Sc’s coach, Edith Agoye said that his team gave everything in the game and were rewarded at the end.” We are now focusing on our next match against Remo Stars.
”Promotion is our target for now and when we reach the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) we will face it with all that it require”, he said.
Monday Odigie, the Bendel Insurance coach, attributed the two goals his team conceded to errors, but did not identify either the cause, or the culprit.
The first match of the day featured two North East teams, Gombe United and El-Kanemi Warriors of Maiduguri in which they ended hostilities in a 1-1 draw.
Meanwhile, DMD FC of Maiduguri played a goalless draw against Niger Tornadoes FC of Minna, to set up their next encounters with against Gombe United and El-kanemi Warriors, respectively.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that while the El-Kanemi Warriors versus Niger Tornadoes FC match on day two of the play-offs is scheduled for 8:30 am, the match between 3Sc and Remo Stars will feature at 11.am.
The Gombe United versus DMD FC match is for 4. pm, while Bendel Insurance and Ekiti United will round-off the day with their kick-off billed for 6. pm. (NAN)
