Football enthusiasts in Ilorin were left heartbroken today, Sunday March 23, 2025, as 10-man Kwara United suffered a 2-0 defeat against visiting Akwa United in the Matchday 30 fixture of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) encounter decided at the Rashidi Yekini Main-Bowl of the George Innih Stadium Complex, Ilorin.
Despite dominating possession in the early part of the game, and equally missing multiple chances through the trio of Wasiu Alalade, Issa Gatta, and Junior Aimufua, the relegation threatened Akwa United stunned the home team with clinical performance, securing all three points.
The match took a dramatic turn when Segun Adekunle was shown a straight red card for impeding a goal-bound attack. With Kwara United down to 10 men, Akwa United capitalized on the advantage, and converted the resultant free kick, as Kabir Osoba scored from the rebound.
In a bid to turn things around, Coach Tunde Sanni introduced Wasiu Jimoh to replace injured Issa Gatta after the halt time break. However, their attempts to rally back ended in frustration.
Akwa United sealed the victory when Uche Sabastine capitalized on Akanni Akeem’s lost of possession in the run of play, slotting home the second goal to secure all three points for the Promise Keepers.
Speaking after the match, Coach Tunde Sanni expressed disappointment in his players for wasting early chances.
“This is unbelievable, and we didn’t see it coming. The result has subjected us to great pressure. We ought to have won convincingly with our performance in the first 20 minutes, but my lads wasted scoring chances, and we paid the price,” Sanni lamented.
However, he remains optimistic, stating that the team must bounce back quickly against Nasarawa United in their next fixture.
“We must put this behind us and prepare very hard for our next match against Nasarawa United on Wednesday”, he added.
For Coach Kennedy Boboye of Akwa United, the result wasn’t a surprise, pointing out that the team has been searching for the needed away victory to ease relegation worries, which they got in Ilorin.
“It’s not a surprise to me that we won this game. It’s our plan to get an away win owing to our placement on the table. It’s good we got it here. We will build positively on this to move away from the drop zone”, he said.
Coach Boboye commended the players for rising up to the ocassion, adding that they played against a good team that was highly mobile. He pledged that the team will beat the drop at the end of the season.
After 30 games, Kwara United remains in 13th position on the NPFL table with 39 points. Their next match, a crucial encounter against Nasarawa United, has been brought forward to Wednesday March 26, 2025, to accommodate the upcoming Sallah celebration.
