Pillars shoots to the top of NPL as Rangers suffers defeat

Kano Pillars on Wednesday evening defeated Akwa United by a lone goal to move to the summit of the Nigerian Premier League table. The 2008 league champions are now on top of the table with a total of 64 points from 37 matches while Lobi Stars are second with 63 points. Lobi Stars hammered Enugu Rangers by three goals to nil in Katsina-Ala on the same day. Enugu Rangers are now third on the table with 61 points and they must win their last league match and hope that Lobi Stars do not win while Kano Pillars lose. Enugu Rangers have not won any trophy since 1984/85 season.
Meanwhile, Jigawa Golden stars defeated Enyimba FC by 1-0 in Hadejia to further compound the woes of the former champions. Warri Wolves also ended the title aspirations of Shooting Stars of Ibadan after a 1-0 win.

Weekend Extra

Apart from the big games we have previewed on our blog, there are other interesting matches across the globe this weekend. Manchester United will hope to maintain their 5 points lead over Manchester City when they host Everton at the Old Trafford Stadium. Manchester City will visit the Britannia Stadium to tackle Wolverhampton Wanderers in a bid to continue their resurgence after their two consecutive wins over West Brom and Norwich City. The Citizens have scored 10 goals in their last two matches.
In Italy, Napoli will clash against Novara in the race for a top four finish. Fiorentina VS Inter is another interesting match to look forward to this weekend. AC Milan can replace Juventus at the top of the table if they can win against Bologna, but that will only occur if AS Roma should deny the Old Ladies all three points at stake in Turin.
In France,PSG will welcome Sochaux in Paris and Montpellier will equally be at home to host Valenciennes. The race for the French Ligue 1 will definitely go down to the last day of the season.
Atletico Madrid and Espanyol will clash at the Vicente Calderon on Sunday.

The Nigerian Premier League will resume this weekend after a two week break that followed the end of the first half of the season. Enugu Rangers,Kano Pillars and Dolphins of Port Harcourt are all tied on 32 points each. The Scottish Premier League has already been won by Celtic FC last weekend, Rangers and Hearts will continue to fight for the second spot on the table.

In the MLS, Thierry Henry will hope to score more goals for the NY Red Bulls. The former Arsenal and Barcelona hit man has scored seven goals this season.

Sunshine ends Rangers' nine game unbeaten run.

Enugu Rangers were beaten 2-0 by Sunshine Stars in Ijebu Ode. Rangers have been unbeaten in their past nine League games but last season's runners-up ended the hopes of Rangers of Enugu. The South Eastern club were poised to increase the gap between them and Enyimba to either four or six points, but they were undone by a determined Sunshine Stars team at the Dipo Dina Stadium. Enugu Rangers had a last minute goal ruled out for an offside.  Sunshine Stars have now gathered six points in their last two League games. The CAF Champions League campaigners also defeated Rising Stars three nil last Wednesday.

Rangers extends unbeaten run to nine matches!

Enugu Rangers have extended their unbeaten run in the Nigerian Premier League to nine matches. This followed a 4-0 win that was recorded over Ocean Boys in a week 14 encounter that was played at the Nnamdi Azikwe stadium in Enugu. Chikeluba Ofoedu scored the first goal for the table toppers before Super Eagles player, Ejike Uzoenyi scored his second consecutive League goal towards the end of the first half. The Flying Antelopes made it 3-0 through Efe Yahere in the second half. Ogogo Odukpe put the game beyond the 2006 Champions when scored his side's fourth goal later in the second half. Rangers are now 3 points clear of second placed Enyimba FC that played a barren draw at home to Lobi Stars, while Dolphins and Heartland played a one all draw in Port Harcourt.

Heartland beaten at home as Rangers remains unbeaten!

Enyimba FC of Aba made a remarkable come back win at the Nnamdi Azikwe stadium in Enugu on Sunday afternoon. The two time African Champions were trailing their hosts by two unreplied goals in the first half. Austin Eguavon made some half time substitutions that paid off after the restart. Uche Henry eventually sealed the victory for the Aba millionaires as they moved up to the second spot on the Nigerian Premier League table behind Rangers. Fans of Heartland FC descended on the centre referee who came from Lagos. He was beaten to coma before the security officials could rescue him. Enugu Rangers have extended their unbeaten run to eight matches following a one all draw they got in Minna. Rangers scored first before the Minna-based club equalised later in the match.