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.

Rangers shot down in Ibadan!

Nigeria Premier League leaders,Enugu Rangers were beaten 1-0 by Shooting Stars of Ibadan in the week 35 fixture at the Adamasingba stadium. Meanwhile, Kano Pillars defeated Dolphins of Port Harcourt by two goals to nil in Kano. Sunshine Stars pulled a surprise victory in Warri as they defeated Wolves by 2-1. In Port Harcourt, Sharks FC defeated Heartland by two goals to nil. Jigawa Stars pipped ABS FC by two goals to nothing. Akwa United picked all the three points at home after a 2-0 win over two time African Champions,Enyimba FC. Pillars and Rangers are now tied on 58 points at the top of the NPL table.

Dolphins VS Kano Pillars preview

Dolphins FC of Port Harcourt will host Kano Pillars in the Nigerian Premier League match that will be played at the Liberation Stadium. Dolphins have 23 points from 14 matches while Pillars have 29 points from 16 matches. The match is the star match of the week. Pillars defeated Sunshine Stars 1-0 last Thursday while Dolphins defeated Rising Stars by the same margin in an away game on the same day. Dolphins FC are currently campaigning in the CAF Champions League.
Our prediction: Dolphins 2-1 Kano Pillars
Date: 31st March,2012
Venue: Liberation Stadium
Time: 3 pm

Nigerian Champions shocked by newly promoted side.

Dolphins FC of Port Harcourt received a shocker in the hands of ABS FC of Ilorin in a rescheduled Nigerian Premier League match that was in an empty stadium. Fans were banned from watching matches at the stadium by the League organizers after a crowd violence that occurred in the match between Kwara United and Sunshine Stars of Akure at the same venue last weekend. ABS FC that is bank-rolled by former Kwara State governor, Abubakar Bukola Saraki claimed a 2-0 win over the CAF Champions League representatives. Dolphins are now 4th on the log standings and they are 4 points behind Enugu Rangers that are at the summit of the League.
Meanwhile, another crowd violence was witnessed in Kano as fans of the home team invaded the pitch and beat up the centre referee, players and officials of Heartland FC of Owerri in another rescheduled match that was played at the Sani Abacha stadium in Kano. The match eventually ended in a 1-1 draw. The visitors opened the scoring in the first half before Kano Pillars grabbed a second half equaliser to force the Federation Cup Champions to a 1-1 draw. Heartland FC also suffered a similar fate when they played a 2-2 draw in Gombe.