By Esther Akaa, Lafia
Nasarawa United Football Club have secured a thrilling 3-2 victory over Plateau United in their Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) matchday 33 fixture.
The match, played on Sunday at the Lafia Township Stadium, saw Nasarawa United dominating the game from the onset.
Anas Yusuf, wearing jersey number 14, opened the scoring for Nasarawa United in the 22nd minute with his 15th goal of the season, assisted by Abubakar Aliyu.
The first half ended 1-0 in favour of the home team.
In the second half, Ugochukwu Leonard, wearing jersey number 17, scored two goals in the 54th and 74th minutes to seal the win for Nasarawa United.
Plateau United’s Vincent Temitope and Samuel Pam scored in the 58th and 94th minutes, but it was too late to change the outcome.
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The win boosted Nasarawa United’s hopes, propelling them to 14th place with 42 points, while Plateau United remained in 13th place with the same number of points.
In a post-match reaction, Nasarawa United head coach, Salisu Yusuf, expressed his satisfaction with the win, saying: “We are happy for the win. We worked so hard to see that we won today’s game.
I am really happy with the boys. They have done so well. They are imprinting all we teach them in our training, and I believe they are adapting quickly.”
Yusuf added, “I am not surprised that we scored three goals in this game, even though we lost momentary concentration toward the latter stages of the game, which is dangerous. But this is football; it happens sometimes.
“For now, our focus is on the President Federation’s Cup Round of 16 tie against Bayelsa United on Wednesday, and after that, we could pay attention to the league’s game against Bendel Insurance in Benin. We approach each game at a time, and we are ready for the challenge.”
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Meanwhile, Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State rewarded the team with ₦2.5 million for their victory, saying: “Great game, guys! Clean and authoritative win!! ₦2.5 million from me to the team. Congratulations, guys!!!”
The State Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Hon Kwanta Yakubu, also rewarded the team with ₦1 million, charging them to continue showing commitment and resilience to escape relegation.
He promised to sustain such benevolence in each of the team’s remaining games.