Warri Wolves football club defeated Wikki Tourists FC 3-2 on Saturday to emerge champions of the 2024/2025 Nigeria National League (NNL) Super 8 playoffs.

The match, held at the Stephen Keshi International Stadium in Asaba, drew a large turnout of football fans from across the nation.

The high-intensity encounter saw Warri Wolves dictating the pace of the game with possessive play and tactical approach, which resulted in an early goal by Abdulateef Yusuf, wearing jersey number 17 for the seasiders.

Yusuf’s goal came in the ninth minute of the first half, following a counter-attack by the seasiders that caught the Wikki tourists’ defence napping.

Following the early goal, Warri Wolves mounted pressure on the Wikki defence, which eventually paid off as the seasiders scored the second goal in the 21st minute of play.

The second goal seemed to distabilise the Wikki tourists team, as a costly mistake by the Wikki defence resulted in a third goal in the 28th minute by Yusuf, his second of the game.

However, Wikki Tourists responded with a counterattack that eventually paid off, with a beautiful goal in the 31st minute of the first half, as Warri Wolves’ defence line was caught off guard.

Both teams went into the break with the tie at 3-1.

On resumption of the second half, Wikki Tourists went all out in search of goals, with excellent ball control and massive counterplay.

Their determination eventually paid off in the 59th minute of play, following a free-flowing counterplay that resulted in Wikki’s second goal of the game.

The match, which produced four yellow cards, was played under poor  weather conditions, with heavy rains preceding the encounter.

The captain of Wikki Tourists, Mohammed Idris, told journalists after the match that the game was not an easy one, as they had a poor start. He, however, stated that his team gave the Warri Wolves a good fight.

The chief coach of Warri Wolves, Napoleon Aluma, said his boys were well-prepared for the encounter, adding that they were poised for victory.

He, however, admitted that both sides were good teams.

“We expected this victory because we were fully prepared. We know we will beat Wikki tourists, and we did it so well today.

“If you look at our run in the regular season, no team defeated us, if not for the desperation in Ogbomosho, when the referee issued an unquestionable red card to my team,” Aluma said.

Meanwhile, a mid-drama played out after the game, as supporters of Wikki Tourists invaded the pitch in protest at what they described as “bad officiating on the part of the centre referee.

A Wikki Tourist supporter, Hamid Garba, told journalists that the referee ought to have added additional time at the end of the 90th minute.

“The centre referee erred. He ought to allow additional time due to the many stoppages in the game, but he just sounded the final whistle on the dot of the 45th minute; this is not good.

“You see the way the game was going, our team was in control in the dying minutes of the game, with additional time, we would have gotten a goal,” Garba said.

The intervention of security personnel at the stadium, however, restored normalcy.

In attendance were Delta  Deputy Governor Monday Onyeme, NFF president Ibrahim Gusau, and the NNL board management team led by its chairman, George Aluo.

(NAN)