Enugu Rangers bounce back from their day one loss to Enyimba with a 2-1 win over Lobi Stars in the day two of the 2019 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) Playoffs which saw the third game between Enyimba and Kano Pillars cancelled because of a heavy downpour at the Agege Township Stadium on Thursday, June 6.
It was, however, Akwa United and FC IfeanyiUbah that kicked off the day as they aimed to bounce back after failing to win in day one of the playoffs.
FC IfeanyiUbah were impressed in the early minutes and took the lead in the 33rd minute through Emmanuel Ugwuka who score with a strike from outside of the box.
Very familiar with coming back from a losing position in the 2019 playoffs, Akwa United levelled two minutes before halftime through Cyril Olisemah who was quick to pounce on a loose ball in the box.
In the 57th minute, Olisemah scored the winner for Akwa United from the penalty spot after Charles Okafor handled the ball in the box.
Two first-half goals from Godwin Aguda and Chiamaka Madu gave Enugu Rangers a 2-1 win over Lobi Stars.
But it was Lobi Stars who got the first chance to take the lead but Sikiru Alimi could not keep his shot on a target while they were saved by their own goalkeeper Egbe Ospino who dived well to push Chiamaka Madu’s effort away from goal.
Ospino, however, had nothing to do three minutes later when Aguda slotted the ball past him of a pass from Madu.
Madu turned the goalscorer in the 28th minute when he rounded Egbe to calmly slot the ball into an empty net to double Rangers’ lead.
Lobi Stars started the second half on the front foot and pulled one goal back in the 60th minute through Alimi who connected well with a pass to finish past a Rangers goalkeeper Nana Bonsu.
Despite getting most of the possession for the remainder of the game, Lobi could not find a way past Rangers defence and ended up with their second consecutive defeat of the 2019 NPFL Playoffs.
Kano Pillars Vs Enyimba kicked off at 7pm but the game only sw 45 minutes of action before it was called off and postpone due to heavy downpour which left the pitch flooded.
The second 45 minutes have been scheduled for 9 am on Friday, June 7.
Akwa United lead the table with four points after two games followed by Enyimba and Enugu Rangers who are both on three points.
Full Results
Akwa Utd 2 Vs 1 FC IfeanyiUbah
Rangers 2 Vs 1 Lobi Stars
Enyimba 0 Vs 0 Kano Pillars (undecided)
Day 3 fixtures
Saturday, June 8
3 PM: Kano Pillars vs FC Ifeanyiubah
5 PM: Lobi Stars vs Enyimba
7 PM: Akwa United vs Rangers Int’l