•Boboye seeks Heartland revenge
Enugu Rangers will aim to record their fifth straight win under coach Fidelis Ikechukwu when they travel to Kaduna to face Niger Tornadoes in a Nigeria Premier League Football fixture at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium on Sunday (today), PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The Flying Antelopes made it four wins on the bounce after a hard-fought win over title rivals Remo Stars last Wednesday. The win sees Rangers remain unbeaten at home this season, having incredibly won 10 and drawn just 1 of their 11 matches at the Cathedral.
Ilechukwu’s side also completed a double over Akwa United with a scoreline of 1-0 from both legs and a 2-0 win over beat Bendel Insurance.
Speaking on his team’s impressive form ahead of Sunday’s game against Tornadoes, the former Plateau United coach said played down his side’s title chances while admitting that the NPFL league is still open for the top contenders to win.
“The NPFL league title is still open for any team to emerge champions,” Ilechukwu said in a post-match interview. We will keep fighting till the end of the season.
“I don’t want the boys to lose concentration. We can’t give up and will keep fighting till the season ends.
“We are not 100 per cent sure of winning the league so I don’t want to put the team under pressure.
“We are not league contenders but you cannot still write us off. We are trying to build a team that can last and win tournaments in the future but doing that we are positive as well.”
In Owerri, Kennedy Boboye will hope to make a big statement against Heartland when he returns to his former club on Sunday (today) after the Naze Millionaires unceremoniously sacked him after just three matches in charge.
The Akure Gunners defeated Lobi Stars on Wednesday and will be confident of another win against relegation-bound Heartland at the Dan Anyiam Stadium.
Both teams have met 20 times in the league, with the Akure-based club winning seven compared to Heartland’s five victories.
Sunshine Stars in their 10 away meetings against Heartland have nicked eight points. The last time the Akure Gunners recorded a win in Owerri was in 2021, and the game ended 1-0.
Elsewhere, Lobi Stars will aim to return to winning ways when they face Katsina United on Sunday.
Despite playing in Lafia, Lobi Stars has been one of the strongest teams at home this season and facing Katsina who scored three goals against Kano Pillars will not be a tea party.
After suffering a 3-2 defeat to Katsina United Kano Pillars will host Abia Warriors on Sunday and will be banking on Mustapha Yuga and Umar to deliver the goals just like they did against Sunshine Stars and Katsina United.
Still basking in the euphoria of a comprehensive 1-5 win over Heartland, Plateau United will host Bendel Insurance who suffered a narrow defeat to Shooting Stars on Thursday.
Albert Hilary who has continued to prove to be one of the key players in the league this season will have to work extra hard to break down the backline of the Benin Arsenal.
Akwa United will return to the Godswill Akpabio stadium to face champions Enyimba International.
The Promise Keepers has played their home games in Eket in recent times and will hope to put a halt to the unbeaten run of Enyimba International.
The People’s Elephant has recently produced a decent result with Chijioke Mbaoma scoring consistently to help the former African champions.
