Lobi Stars were the better of the two sides as they continued to put pressure on the defence of Jigawa Stars, forcing their goalkeeper Victor Sochima to make a double save in the 19th minute to keep his side in the match.
A minute earlier, the begging chance that fell to Bello John who fired off the target by the striker.
On resumption, both teams made double substitutions in the 53rd minute (Jigawa Stars) and 60th minute (Lobi Stars) to try and break down each other.
However, it was the home team that went in front in the 70th minute when burly forward, Samuel Stone scored from the spot.
Jibola Adeleke kept Kwara United on top of the table when he scored in the 82nd minute to cancel out Chinedu Udeagha’s 38th minute goal for Wikki Tourists.
Pillars who stood a good chance of going to the top of the table were reduced to 10 men after Yusuf Maigoro was sent off in the second half for a professional foul only managed to hold Enugu Rangers to 1-1 draw.
Ernest Governor had put the ‘Flying Antelopes’ in front in the 9thth minute before Auwalu Mallam Ali equalised for the ‘Masu gida’ boys with a powerful free-kick in the 42nd minute.
While the defending champions, Enyimba FC square off with FC IfeanyiUbah in the first ‘Oriental derby’ at the Aba Township stadium, Heartland will welcome resurgent Abia Warriors in the other derby of ‘oriental brothers’ at the Okigwe Township stadium.
For those who may not understand, ‘Oriental derbies’ are usually contested by NPFL clubs from the South-East region of the country.
Whenever these clubs meet, there is usually so much to talk about as the intense rivalry among them comes to the fore leaving in its trail the good, the bad and sometimes ugly side of the beautiful game.
It is against this background that Enyimba will be going into the match against the third from bottom ‘Nnewi millionaires’ with the aim of annexing the three points that would return them to the top of the NPFL table.
Kwara Utd reclaim top spot as Kano Pillars collapse 2-3 at Dakkada FC dailytrust.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dailytrust.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Kano Pillars go top as Enyimba, Kwara United slip at home
Akwa United’s forward Etboy Akpan vies for the ball with Kano Pillars left-full back, Fahad Usman (R) in the NPFL Week 7 match in Uyo
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Thu Feb 25 2021
Former champions, Kano Pillars assumed leadership of the Nigeria Professional Football League, NPFL, table for the first time this season after they managed to beat Sunshine Stars 1-0 in the week 12 fixture played yesterday at the Ahmadu Bello stadium Kaduna.
Nyima Nwagua’s 9th minute strike was enough to take the ‘Masu gida’ boys to the top of the table with 23 points after Enyimba FC and Kwara United shared the spoils with opponents on home soil.