Controversy Trails Nasarawa’s Victory

Hosts Nasarawa United Football Club of Lafia beat Rangers International FC of Enugu 2-1 on Monday in a 2017/2018 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) Match, Day 5 fixture overshadowed by controversy.
The Tidesports source reports that in the match played at the Lafia Township Stadium, the hosts took an early lead. They scored through Abubakar Abdullahi who capitalised on poor defending by the away side to score.
But the home team failed to extend their lead as the visiting side kept them in check thereafter.
Rangers kept pressing for an equaliser and got it in the 84th minute through Rangers’ skipper, Odita Okechukwu who nodded in a cross.
However, in the second minute of second half added time, the hosts were awarded a penalty kick for a tackle on Nasarawa United’s Suleiman Mohammed, and this drew some controversy.
After the uproar, Nasarawa United’s Seun Sogbeso converted the penalty kick to make it 2-1 in the third minute of added time. Three minutes later, Okechukwu again capitalised on poor defending to score from close range, but what should have made it a brace for him was cancelled by the centre referee.
A louder uproar trailed this, but it was all to no avail as the hosts ended the game with a win.
Head Coach of Rangers,Gbenga Ogunbote later told newsmen that the way the game went was a dismay to him.
“The outcome of this fixture is a dismay to me and I challenge sports reporters to do the needful by reporting how the game was played out.