Kano Pillars stars, Ahmed Musa and midfielder Sheu Abdullahi, missed Sunday’s highly-anticipated Nigeria Premier Football League northwest derby between Kano Pillars and Katsina United due to a knock and family reasons respectively, Pillars coach Usman Abdallah has told our correspondent.
Musa and Abdullahi were surprise absentees as the Sai Masu Gida beat their neighbours 1-0 inside a packed Sani Abacha Stadium in Kano to stay seven points adrift of leaders Remo Stars with a game in hand.
Aside from Musa and Abdullahi, Kano Pillars also missed the services of veteran midfielder Rabiu Ali, Adams Aminu and Abiam Nelson who are currently in the home-based Eagles camp in Ikenne, but the absentees didn’t stop them from prevailing in the fierce derby.
“Ahmed Musa has a knock and we didn’t want him to aggravate the injury. He had an MRI scan and the doctors advised that he should sit out for some time. He wanted to play but I insisted that he took a rest,” Abdallah told our correspondent.
“Sheu has some family engagements and he went to Sokoto as well,” he added.
In the absence of Musa and other regulars, some of Kano Pillars’ fringe players stepped up to the delight of the coach.
“When I came in, almost 70 per cent of the team left and because of time I had to go into the Kano Pillars Junior team to pick about six players whom we registered with eventually. They were quite surprised that I threw them into the game against Katsina United. Even our opponents were surprised.
“So, what we saw in that derby win was the future of Kano Pillars. Many of them were debutants and I am very proud of what we were able to do in the absence of some of our key players. It was a very fantastic atmosphere.”
Kano Pillars are currently seventh in the NPFL and their next game is against 3SC in Ibadan on Sunday.
