June 25, (THEWILL) – Enyimba of Aba, the reigning Nigeria Premier League champions, booked their spot in the Naija Super Eight Play-off national finals, alongside NNL team, Yobe Desert Stars of Damaturu.
Enyimba emerged victorious with a 1-0 win over Heartland in a tightly contested “Oriental Derby,” while Yobe Stars caused an upset by defeating NPL side Gombe United 2-1. The matches took place at the Eket Township Stadium.
In the Enyimba versus Heartland clash, Nigeria’s most successful club took the lead in the 25th minute through Murphy Ndukwe, despite Heartland having the first shot on target in the 14th minute. Enyimba had opportunities to extend their advantage but failed to convert.
The game remained evenly poised in the second half, with both teams struggling to create clear-cut chances. Enyimba’s coach, Finidi George, expressed his dissatisfaction with the team’s performance, despite the victory, saying: “We were lucky they didn’t get an equaliser.”
Meanwhile, Yobe Desert Stars dominated the opening stages of their encounter against Gombe United in the North-East derby. They entertained the fans with their excellent passing and posed a constant threat. Tony Elaigwu broke the deadlock in the 40th minute, displaying impressive close control to evade his marker and slot the ball into the net. Shuaibu Adamu then added a second goal for the Desert Stars just before half-time.
Gombe United started the second half strongly and managed to pull a goal back through Ogunjimi Samuel in the 54th minute. However, their hopes were dashed when Sadiq Shuaibu received a red card in the 82nd minute, leaving them with a numerical disadvantage. Gombe United’s late attempt at an equaliser was denied by a goal-line clearance.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
