Defending champions House of Prayer (HOP FA) yesterday began their AMAPRO Football Championship title defence on a winning note with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Cornerstone FC in the opening round of matches.
Salaudeen Moshood scored the only goal of the encounter just two minutes into the game, giving HOP FA an early advantage.
Despite sustained pressure from Cornerstone in search of an equaliser, Coach Oniye’s side remained disciplined in defence to secure all three points.
Former champions Abraysports fought back from a goal down to earn a 1-1 draw against a well-organised Ka’ah FC.
Ahmed Sodiq opened the scoring in the 53rd minute with a stunning bicycle kick for the debutants before Solomon Olamilekan converted a 75th minute penalty to restore parity for Abraysports.
Both sides pushed for a late winner but settled for a share of the spoils.
Dohz Soccer Academy and Araba FC also played out a 1-1 draw, with both goals coming from the penalty spots.
Peter Ogunkoya gave Araba FC the lead just after the hour mark, while Adebayo Oni converted a late penalty in the 87th minute to rescue a point for Dohz SA.
Dickalo FA emerged 4-3 winners over NA Royal in one of the most entertaining matches of the day.
Hanafi Babatunde put NA Royal ahead in the 22nd minute, but Dickalo FA responded through Abba Yakubu and Ibrahim Ganusa in the 54th and 56th minutes respectively.
Matthew Adeyemi then scored twice in the 70th and 85th minutes to put Dickalo firmly in control.
Funsho Funto pulled one back late for NA Royal, but Dickalo held on for victory.
Gaa Akanbi FC produced an impressive display to defeat Amapro FC 2-0.
Boluwatife Ajina broke the deadlock on the stroke of half time before Egwaikhide Samuel converted a penalty in the 67th minute to wrap up the win.
Debutants TOE FC also enjoyed a dream start with a comfortable 2-0 victory over HMK FC.
Early goals from Ilani Joshua and Moshood Yusuf in the 13th and 18th minutes proved enough to secure maximum points.
Last year’s runners up, Discovery FA staged a remarkable comeback from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Blinz FC.
Ajiboye Sodiq and Aremu had given Blinz a commanding lead before Discovery responded, with Zaharadeen Ibrahim scoring a sublime late free kick to earn his side a point.
One of the biggest upsets of the opening day saw Laycon FA defeated the NPFL All-Stars, announcing themselves as one of the tournament’s early surprise packages.
The Offa-based side took an early lead from Toafeek Babatunde and Olaniyi Moshood in the 8th and 22 minutes respectively, but Ahmed Yakubu halved the deficit on the stroke of halftime.
NPFL Allstars pushed hard for an equaliser but Laycon FA defended resolutely to seal the surprise victory.
The opening-day fixtures were played simultaneously at the Rashidi Yekini Main Bowl and the KFA Pitch inside George Innih Stadium, Ilorin.
Action continues today, Tuesday with the following fixtures.
Ka’ah FC vs Amapro FC – 8am
Abraysports vs Gaa Akanbi FC – 8am
HMK FC vs Discovery FA – 10am
Blinz FC vs TOE FC – 10am
Dickalo FA vs HOP FA – 2pm.
NA Royal vs Cornerstone FC – 2pm.
Araba FC vs Laycon FA – 4pm
NPFL All-Stars vs Dohz SA – 4pm.
