Dolphins held by Pillars as Rangers crush Heartland

Dolphins FC were held to a 1-1 draw by Kano Pillars in a week 17 match that was played at the Liberation stadium,Port Harcourt. The former league champions were a goal down in the first half before grabbing an equaliser in the second half.

The visitors are still on top of the Nigerian Professional Football League table.

At the Nnamdi Azikwe stadium,Enugu Rangers mauled Heartland of Owerri by 3-1 in the absence of Sunday Mba who is in the Super Eagles camp in Windhoek.

The CAF confederations cup campaigners could have scored more than three goals,but they missed a penalty in the first half.

In another league match,Enyimba defeated Sunshine stars by 1-0 in Aba. Sibi Gwa scored a late penalty to ensure the 'Elephants' grabbed the maximum three points.

The return of the Nigerian league

The 2012/2013 football league season will commence on March 9th,2013. The league season couldn't start in November,2012 due to an array of problems that trailed the conclusion of the previous season. Some clubs are still owing their players while the league board also failed to reimburse the clubs for paying the wages of match officials.

Kano Pillars and Enugu Rangers have already started their season with CAF champions league action. Pillars were the league champions at the end of last season. The Kano-based club recorded a 5-1 win over Olympique Bangui while Rangers worked over their opponents from Sao Tome and Principe.

The new league season will be sponsored by globacom limited. The telecommunication company failed to pay their sponsorship fee in 2011. That decision followed a legal tussle that ensued between the organisation and another telco-MTN Nigeria.

Meanwhile, the sports minister and an interim league board have reached an agreement with glo. The official name of the league will now be called NPFL-Nigerian Professional Football League instead of Nigerian Premier League(NPL).

The change of name is to save the league from the series of law suits that have delayed the kick off the competition.

The star match of week 1 is between Enyimba abd Enugu Rangers. The former have won the league on six occasions while the latter are one title shy of equaling that record. Rangers finished as runners up last season.