Still rueing the ill-fated MatchDay 29 home fixture with Sunshine Stars which they dominated in all ramifications but ended up sharing the spoils with their visitors in a barren draw, Lobi Stars have shifted the battle against relegation to the Ahmadu Bello Stadium Kaduna, the adopted home of ‘nomadic’ Niger Tornadoes as they aim for victory against their hosts in the Match day 30 fixture coming up on Saturday, May 28.
Undoubtedly, Lobi Stars have improved remarkably on their performances since the return of former international, Dominic Iorfa, as Vice Chairman/CEO but have been unfortunate as the impressive performances are yet to yield the desired results as consistently as expected.
Lobi Stars is uncomfortably placed 17th on the league table with 33 points from 29 games and desperately need the three points against Tornadoes to bridge the gap and keep survival hope alive.
An equally uncomfortable Niger Tornadoes who are placed 16th with 36 points from 29 games need the game as much as Lobi Stars to move further away from the redline.
If the records between the two clubs both current and all time are anything to go by, Lobi Stars are favoured to make success of the game under preview.
The “Ikon Allah” boys have not won any of the last 5 encounters against The “Shoe get Size” boys as they have drawn 3 and lost 2 times.
On current form, Lobi Stars have recorded 3 wins, 1 draw and 2 loses to pocket 10 points from the last 6 games, while Niger Tornadoes earned 3 wins and 3 losses within the same period to garner 9 points from 6 games, 1 point less than Lobi Stars.
On overall head-to-head, the ‘Glory to Glory boys’ have engaged their opponents 22 times overall and won 8 times against 6, with 8 draws in between.
Though Niger Tornadoes are 3 points ahead of Lobi Stars, the visitors seem to be more prepared for the game taking into consideration the above statistics and superiority in goal scoring ability of 24-20 averaging 0.83 as against 0.69 per game in favour of Lobi Stars.
The soft spoken Technical Adviser of Lobi Stars, Mohammed BabaGanaru, despite the precarious position of his club spoke on the crucial match with an aura of confidence.
“I have enjoyed tremendous support from the Vice Chairman/CEO and can not afford to let him down.
“We are here in Kaduna for the business of making sure we improve our chances of coming out of the drop zone, and this centre looks a possible spot.
“Consequently, our target is to clinch the maximum points,” said the former Kano Pillars and El-Kanemi Warriors coach.
