NPFL: Lobi Stars Go Top After Kano Pillars Draw
Lobi Stars were held to a 1-1 draw by Kano Pillars at its adopted home ground, the Lafia City Stadium in Nasarawa State, on match day 18 of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) on Monday.
The Makurdi-based side went ahead after in-form striker Stanley Oganbor got on the end of Waheed Adebayo’s cross to fire home the opener after five minutes. Lobi Stars 1-0 Kano Pillars.
Kano Pillars kept the pressure on the home side after going behind and their dominance yielded a goal when Suleman Idris was on hand to head home Rabiu Ali’s free kick two minutes before the break.
All moves by the home team to get the winning goal proved abortive as Kano Pillars held on to end Lobi’s 100 percent streak at their adopted home in Lafia.
FT Lobi 1-1 Kano Pillars #LOBPIL #NPFL24
⚽️a Stanley Oganbor 5’ – Suleman Idris 43’
— NPFL (@NigeriaPFL) January 15, 2024
Lobi Stars head coach, Eugene Agagbe, believes it was never their day as they hit the bar three times.
He took solace in the fact that the season is still a long way from its end and hopes they can dig out results elsewhere in subsequent games to make up for the lost points.
“I’m still impressed with the performance of the boys. We won away and we drew today but we will go back and work back as we will play to beat Plateau United at the weekend,” Agagbe said.
“The league is fight till the end as we have teams that have lost about two to three games at home but we’re getting a point today despite hitting the bar about three times. It is not a bad outing for us.”
“The boys will continue to work hard and we will shift focus to our next game at home against Plateau United,” he said.
The draw on Monday means Lobi Stars go top of the NPFL standings with 33 points, one more than second-placed Remo Stars.
Monday’s NPFL results
Bayelsa United 2-0 Bendel Insurance
Katsina United 2-0 Remo Stars
Lobi Stars 1-1 Kano Pillars
Sporting Lagos FC 2-2 Shooting Stars.
