Alao Danbani scored in the 19th minute on Sunday to give hosts Kwara United Football Club of Ilorin a 1-0 victory over visiting Niger Tornadoes of Minna.

The Match Day 15 fixture of the 2021/2022 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) was played at the Kwara Stadium Complex in Ilorin.

Danbani scored with a half-volley off Abdulafeez Musa’s pass from the right flank.

The former ABS FC striker had scored four times in Kwara United’s last five games, including the goal in the 1-0 win over visiting Enyimba International of Aba on Feb. 16.

The entertaining North-Central derby lived up to expectations as both teams matched each other in a game dominated by lots of goalscoring chances from both teams.

In the 38th minute, Hashim Shamsudeen ghosted past the hosts’ midfielders before being stopped by a more resilient backline; Kwara United were made to defend with all their strength.

Both sides returned from where they left it off in the first half and responded well to their half-time pep talk.

In the 68th minute, Sunday Akinmoladun’s back-pass to his goalkeeper, Lucky John, resulted in a corner-kick when John failed to clear to safety.

Kwara United, however, missed a lot of goalscoring opportunities in the match and the team’s head coach, Abdullahi Biffo, said in a post-match interview that the trend was worrisome.

Kwara United players and fans appealed for a penalty kick in vain in the 74th minute.

This was after Kabiru Balogun’s delivery from a corner-kick appeared to have hit the arm of Sunday Akinmoladun, but the centre referee waved play on.

After the match, Biffo, who rued his players’ missed opportunities, said his job was to ensure that his boys scored to win matches.

Biffo said one of his midfielders, who was in form last season and helped the team score many goals, had not replicated that form in the current season. He said this was why his team struggled to score many goals.

His Niger Tornadoes’ counterpart, Abubakar Bala, said his players gave a good account of themselves and fought very well against strong opposition in Kwara United.

He explained that a more organised Kwara United made it difficult for his team to create goalscoring opportunities in previous games.

(NAN)