City Football Club of Abuja defeated Yobe Desert Stars FC of Damaturu in the 2021-22 season of the Nigeria National League (NNL) at the Area 10 Sports Complex football pitch.
The Abuja-base club on Sunday, got a vital 1-0 win in their matchday12 fixture of the season, recording 24 points on the NNL table of Group A1 Northern Conference.
City FC, who is second-placed on the table, one point behind El Kanemi with a goal in hand, had their matchday11 fixture against Sokoto United suspended.
According to a report by NAN, the home team was rusty against the visitors, with forwards Mujeeb Odufeso and Oscar Ezejiofor failing to score from close range after 14 minutes into the first half.
Odufeso also missed scoring from a freekick for City FC. However, he later prodded a goal in added time of the first half from close range.
Meanwhile, the coach of Yobe Desert Stars, Ernest Jupiter, has attributed his side’s loss to ill luck.
Jupiter noted that the team was very prepared and trained effectively for the cracker but the outcome was unfortunate.
“We thought our training hard and skills could help us to overwhelm City FC but luck ran out on us,” Jupiter told NAN post-match.
While noting that his team was not in a good position in the league, Jupiter assured that they were going to make sure they maintained their position in the NNL.
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Jupiter said he returned to the Yobe Desert Stars FC this season, remarking that they were already playing well as the season went by.
He said, “I told the management clearly that I didn’t come to the team to give them a promotion. I came to groom the team for next season’s league.
“We will maintain our position in the NNL and we will not get relegated. I wish those going to the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) in the group best of luck,” Jupiter added.
Reacting to the victory, City FC’s director of sports, Moses Adams, said he was not pleased with his team’s performance after a dominant first-half display where his players missed several scoring chances.
“It was not a good game because El Kanemi Warriors FC are topping the table with 25 points in our group, and with this win, we have 24 points, just a points difference with them,” he said.
“We could have used this opportunity to get more goals, like three to four goals, in this match. But we ended with just a goal.
“We have the qualities and I don’t know what was wrong with the players. Definitely, we are not happy with the team’s performance. That’s just the truth,” Adams complained.
City FC’s win means they still maintain their second position on the table with 24 points, while Yobe Desert Stars stayed sixth with 17 points.
The Trumpet reports that City FC’s next fixture, in the NNL Group A1 Northern Conference, is against the fourth-placed ABS Football Club on Saturday, June 4, 2022.
