Kebbi survives Smart City scare in a 13-goal thriller, as the host picks early point in the NBSL Super Four Opener.
Day 1 of the Nigerian League Super Four got up to a flying start on Thursday afternoon at the ancient Crocodile City of Kaduna, with Kebbi BSC getting the better of red-hot Smart City in a thrilling 13-goal opener.
In a close encounter that saw both sides outscore each other, Kebbi narrowly pipped Smart City 7-6 to garner their first 3 points of the competition and also establish early dominance at the Murtala Square, the venue of the Finals.
Hameed Akeem of Kebbi had sent the fans in a frenzy when he drew first blood with a spectacular shot that lit up the arena and set the tone for a rain of goals, with Fuad Badmus scoring quadruple goals while Ekene Obi and Adams Taiwo netted one goal apiece for the Kebbi team.
Smart City would however take the game to Kebbi when Seun Taro restored parity and then went on to fire home four goals. Akpan Abraham also got on the score sheet with a brace for the boys from Lagos who seemed to be torn in the flesh for Kebbi, Africa’s no.1 ranked club.
Kebbi however got the full points of the game with a goal from Badmus in the final seconds of the third round.
The second game of the day was another cracker, as both Kada BSC and Kwara BSC proved goalless until Yusuf Usman puts Kwara ahead in the 6th minute, but their lead only lasted 60 seconds till Kada restored parity via Tanko Emmanuel to end the first period 1-1.
After the restart, both sides tried to assert their dominance but it was Kada’s captain and Chidozie Frank who put them ahead before Kwara levelled back to end the second period.
In the third and final period, Kada’s Chidozie Frank, Emmanuel Tanko and Isiaka Lawal rallied his teammates that provided the crucial win over the Kwara boys in front of home fans.
Speaking after the game, Kada’s captain Chidozie Frank maintained that his side had to dig deep to beat a resilient Kwara to the league trophy on their sight.
“Looking at the game today, we saw that the Kwara Boys ran out of energy around the third period and we took advantage” – Chidozie Frank; Captian Kada BSC.
Kada is currently second on the group standings, behind Kebbi as a result of goal difference. Actions continue tomorrow with Kebbi BSC taking on Kwara BSC in the first game, while Kada BSC will battle Smart BSC of Lagos.
Results and Fixtures
Day1 Results – 29th Thursday
M37: Kebbi BSC 7 vs. 6 Smart City BSC
M38: Kada BSC 6 vs. 4 Kwara BSC
Day2 Fixtures – 30th Friday
M39: Kwara BSC vs. Kebbi BSC
M40: Kada BSC vs. Smart City BSC
Day3 Fixtures – 31st Saturday
M41: Kwara BSC vs. Smart City BSC
M42: Kada BSC vs. Kebbi BSC
All matches shall be live on NFFtv facebook and beachsoccer.ng
