NPFL Round-up: MFM dents Enyimba’s eight-game unbeaten run in 1-0 win

Mountain Of Fire and Miracle (MFM) Football Club Of Lagos on Thursday ended Enyimba Football Club’s eight games unbeaten run in the 2020/2021 Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) season.

Ebenezer Odeyemi’s solitary strike midway into the first half helped the home team secure maximum points for the first time against their more illustrious opponents.

The Olukoya Boys with the victory ended a run of three games without a win, a big boost for Coach Olalekan Gabriel who is working to steer the team away from relegation problems.

The visitors made changes to the starting line-up as Anayo Iwuala and John Noble joined the Super Eagles squad for the AFCON qualifier but they did not trouble the more youthful MFM side in the early exchanges.

Coach Fatai Osho described the loss as a missed opportunity for his team. “This is a big loss for us. We already planned to take maximum points in Lagos but we didn’t get going in this game.

We were not aggressive enough especially in the first half and I made the players realize at the interval that we have to put in the work in order to get something from this game”, Osho told www.npfl.ng after the match Asked if the absence of the duo of Iwuala and Noble affected the team, he dismissed such suggestion and noted that Enyimba has players that can deliver without the two players.

“Enyimba is a big team with a deep squad. We have players that can hold their own in any match situation. It’s just unfortunate that our wide players could not deliver especially in the first half that was why we pulled out Samson Obi and Gabriel Orok at the break. We will go back and plan for our next game and hopefully, we will get something from it.

Olalekan replaced Coach Tony Bulus after a string of poor results and he described the victory as a motivation to his bid to keep the team in the premier league. “This is a big win for the team. I want to appreciate the players for putting in the work. After our loss to Akwa United, we were determined not to lose games at home. That was our motivation and we thank God the players delivered.

I had to ring changes to the team after the defeat and the boys have shown they want to play and this will spur us on going forward”, remarked the MFM Coach, still brimming with excitement after the match MFM will next play Jigawa Golden Stars and the coach is confident of getting a positive result in the encounter. “We are going to Jigawa with this same squad because they have shown hunger and I am confident that we can get something on the road. My ambition this season is for my team to remain in the top flight”