There are no usual suspects among the contenders for the Nigeria Premier Football League Golden Boot this season.
Even when it seemed like the goals had dried up at the top of the chart, some new names are springing up to give the leader a run for his money with five games to go this season.
ABIODUN ADEWALE takes a look at the top shots in the slow race to the Golden Boot.
ANAS YUSUF (NASARAWA UNITED, 15 Goals)
Nasarawa United forward Yusuf has been the man to beat for most of the season, even though he had not scored in six games before netting his 15th goal against Plateau United last Sunday.
For a team that had struggled for most of the season as well, Yusuf has been in contrasting form with his club, scoring five goals in their opening four games of the season, including a hat-trick against El-Kanemi Warriors on match-day three in September.
He has scored a hat-trick twice this term, with the second one coming during their 3-0 win against Abia Warriors in October.
Yusuf’s early pace is why he has not been dethroned as the leading scorer for most part of the season.
Having scored again last weekend, the forward might have got over his dry spell, and it remains to be seen how many more goals he will need to keep other contenders at bay.
SHOLA ADELANI (IKORODU CITY, 11 Goals)
In terms of goal scoring, the 44-year-old Ali has surpassed his mark from last season (10), having netted 11 times so far.
Like Yusuf, Ali stormed to a prolific start on match-day one, netting a brace on the opening day of the league against new boys Ikorodu City.
It, however, took him six games to add to that with another brace against Rangers International, and he has endured one or two droughts before racking up 11 goals. For context, his last league goal was in February during a 2-1 win over Rangers, meaning he has scored three times against the Flying Antelopes this season.
For a midfielder, Ali’s figure of 11 goals and two assists is more than decent. As a matter of fact, he is the top scorer for Pillars this season but the old wine might not be able to do better than the rest of the contenders on the chart at the end of the season.
RABIU ALI (KANO PILLARS, 11 Goals)
In terms of goal scoring, the 44-year-old Ali has surpassed his mark from last season (10), having netted 11 times so far.
Like Yusuf, Ali stormed to a prolific start on match-day one, netting a brace on the opening day of the league against new boys Ikorodu City.
It, however, took him six games to add to that with another brace against Rangers International, and he has endured one or two droughts before racking up 11 goals. For context, his last league goal was in February during a 2-1 win over Rangers, meaning he has scored three times against the Flying Antelopes this season.
For a midfielder, Ali’s figure of 11 goals and two assists is more than decent. As a matter of fact, he is the top scorer for Pillars this season but the old wine might not be able to do better than the rest of the contenders on the chart at the end of the season.
MEGWO, DESOUZA (ABIA WARRIORS, 10 Goals)
Abia Warriors duo Sunday Megwo and Ijoma Desouza have fuelled the recent resurgence of Abia Warriors, putting them in pole position for a continental spot at the end of the season.
Megwo has been running the show since the start of the season, adding four assists to his credit as well.
On the other hand, Desouza didn’t join the party until November 2024, and he has contributed six 10 goals and two assists since then.
Abia Warriors have scored 35 goals this season, meaning both Megwo and Desouza have been involved in all and are directly involved in about 85 per cent of the games.
AYOMIDE COLE (IKORODU CITY, 10 Goals)
Super sup Cole has only earned the starting place for Ikorodu City six times this season, but the forward has produced 10 goals and two assists in 26 games this term.
Like his teammate, Adelani, Cole started late but as soon as he began to find the back of the net in their 2-0 win over Rivers United in November, the striker hasn’t looked back and not even been deterred that he doesn’t get a starting shirt regularly.
