The Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) resumes on Wednesday with five days of matches at various centres.
Among the 10 games played, seven home wins, two away wins and a draw with a total of 17 goals were recorded.
Bendel Insurance and Plateau United were the only two teams that picked up maximum points on the road.
However, Doma United got a tough spot in Yenegoa against Bayelsa United.
Bendel Insurance 100% notes
Newcomers, Bendel Insurance continued to shock football fans after picking a lone goal victory over El Kanemi Warriors in Maiduguri.
The victory made Benin Arsenal the third NPFL team to win their opening five matches of the season after Kaduna United did it in 2005 and Heartland repeated the same feat ten years later.
Vice Echeta scored the opening goal of the third for the visitors with a solo finish in the 29th minute.
The game was momentarily ruined when the fans of the home team started throwing stones at the visiting Bendel Insurance team.
According to Bendel Insurance’s Twitter handle, the referee had to stop the game in the 39th minute to attend to the suffering fans.
39′
The center referee stopped play and came to the north side of the stand after some El-Kanemi fans were seen throwing stones at the Asuransi player.
EL-KANEMI WARRIORS FC 0-1 BENDEL INSURANCE FC#ELKBEN#NPFL23
– Official Bendel Insurance FC (@BendelInsurance) February 1, 2023
Elsewhere, Plateau United stunned Northern rivals Nasarawa United in a three-goal thriller in Jos.
The Peace Boys beat Solid Miners 2-1 to add to their woes as Nasarawa United are yet to win any game this season.
The Peace Boys who had broken the deadlock in the 20th minute from defender Ibrahim Mustapha were tied again by King Osanga in the 38th minute.
However, the Peace Boys bounced back in the 69th minute from Onyebuchi Ifeanyi with more work in the second half for the Fidelis Ilechukwu-led side.
The win then took Plateau United to fifth place with seven points behind Akwa United.
Enyimba is sick in Ikenne
After being beaten 3-0 in Benin, Remo Stars bounced back with a record-breaking 1-0 win over Gajah Rakyat in Ikenne.
The defeat means Finidi George and his men have suffered their second consecutive game of the season after losing 2-1 to Plateau United two weeks ago.
Samuel Anakwe scored the fastest goal of the league season with a strike 17 seconds into Edidiong Ezekiel’s assist.
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16 and ………… 17 seconds
Samuel Anakwe needed 17 seconds to score the fastest goal #NPFL23 #insignificant | #WeAreRemoStars pic.twitter.com/Jh9v4AGV8j
– Remo Stars Sports Club (@RemoStarsSC) February 1, 2023
The win saw Remo Stars reach Bendel Insurance and close the gap to three points behind the Benin side.
another game
Kwara United picked up their first win of the season and did so with the help of Wasiu Alalade who scored against his former team, Akwa United at the Lekan Salami Stadium.
The match also saw former Akwa United goalkeeper, Adewale Adeyinka in a position to deny the Promise Keepers from scoring against his current club.
However, the U23 goalkeeper conceded a goal from Cyril Olisema in the 69th minute before the Harmony side bounced back in the 86th minute.
Yusuf Taiye’s brace also helped Gombe United to their first win of the season after beating Shooting Stars 2-1 at the Pantami Stadium.
The win helped the Savannah boys cross the relegation zone to finish seventh in group A.
In Port Harcourt, defending champions Rivers United consolidated their position at the top with a 2-0 win over Wikki Tourists.
Gideon Duru’s brace was enough as the Garden City side extended their unbeaten run in group A as they topped the group.
As for Wikki Tourists, they continue their poor start to the season as they now only have points from 15 possible.
Joseph Atule’s late penalty helped Lobi Stars beat Sunshine Stars 1-0 to close the gap to one point from the top in group B.
After two defeats and two draws, Mohammed Hadi’s half-time strike helped Enugu Rangers beat Dakkada FC in Enugu, while Abia Warriors also beat Niger Tornadoes 1-0 in Umuahia to return to winning ways after two straight defeats.
Draw
Bayelsa United ended their fifth match with a 1-1 draw away to Doma United, the prosperity boys scored in the 53rd minute after conceding a first-half goal by the away team, recording the only draw in the midweek match.
The result of the fifth match;
Asuransi El-Kanemi 0-1 Bendel
Nasarawa Utd 1-2 Plateau Utd
Bayelsa Utd 1-1 Doma Utd
Remo Stars 1-0 Enyimba
Kwara Utd 2-1 Akwa Utd
Gombe Utd 2-1 3SC
Abia Warriors 1-0 Tornado
Kali Utd 2-0 Wikki Turis
Rangers 1-0 Dhaka
Lobi Stars 1-0 Sunshine
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