Nasarawa United produced a stunning reversal of fortunes, defeating Abia Warriors 3-0 in the 2024/25 Nigeria Premier Football League match-day seven clash decided on Wednesday, just four days after suffering a 3-0 loss to Remo Stars at Ikenne, Ogun State.
The hero of the evening was undoubtedly Anas Yusuf who scored a brilliant hat-trick in front of a jubilant home crowd at the Lafia City Stadium.
Both sides struggled to make any difference in the first-half of the game watched by Nasarawa State Governor, His Excellency, Engr. Abdullahi Sule, Nasarawa State Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Hon. Jafaru Ango, House Committee Chairman on Youth and Sports Development at the Nasarawa State House of Assembly, Hon. Garba Mohammed Isimbabi, as well as Super Eagles of Nigeria Interim Coach, Augustine Eguavon, and FA Chairman, Salisu Galadima ‘Basira’, as United’s Chairman, Solomon Babanjah played host to the aforementioned.
However, after receiving some pep talks from the dressing room, the Solid Miners returned for the reverse half looking dangerous, and it took Anas Yusuf only eleven minutes to give the home side the lead with a powerful header off teenage sensation, Shina Kumater’s cross into the box.
The pacy winger doubled the lead two minutes later with right back, Kabir Balogun, credited with the assist.
Anas completed his hat-trick with a powerful shot in the 70th minute when he pounced on a rebound off Terdoo Shimagande’s strike, sealing the victory for the hosts, and their first home win since the beginning of the 2024/25 NPFL Season.
It was his second hat-trick of the season and takes his goal tally to eight in total for the Solid Miners this campaign. His impressive performance today earned him the Man-of-the-Match award.
Today’s win propels Nasarawa United to 8th position in the league standings with nine points, while Abia Warriors drop to 13th with eight points.
United will be on the road to Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, where they will take on 8th-placed Sunshine Stars of Akure who have ten points on Sunday, 20th October, 2024, by 4pm.
POST-MATCH REACTIONS:
KABIRU DOGO(TECH. DIR/NAS): “This is our first victory at home, and it counts so much for us because it will give us more confidence.
“We are thrilled to bounce back from last weekend’s disappointment at Ikenne.
“The boys showed tremendous character and determination in today’s game, even though we started slowly, but we had our game plan.
“All the players showed the hunger to win today, particularly Anas Yusuf who scored a hat-trick within fourteen minutes. He is unstoppable, you know!
“Proud of his continued support for the team, we are dedicating today’s victory to our father and number one supporter of the Club, the Governor of Nasarawa State, His Excellency, Engr. Abdullahi Sule, who demanded victory and goals from us when he hosted the hierarchy of the Club earlier today in his office at the Government House, Lafia.
“We can’t imagine where we would have been now were it not for his passion and uncompromising supports to the team.
“We will continue with this form and continue to make both him and everybody in the State happy.
“We equally thank thousands of our supporters and fans alike for always being there for us. Insha Allah, we will overcome the hurdles and make them even more proud of us.”
ANAS YUSUF(HAT-TRICK SCORER/NAS): “I thank God who enabled me to score my second hat-trick of the season.
“I feel excited for this feat. I thank my teammates and coaching crew for the opportunity given to me to express myself on the field.
“I will continue to work hard to help the team win games by scoring more goals, going forward.”
