The final day of action in the NPFL was a nail-biting finish as FC Ifeanyiubah, Lobi Stars and Enyimba secured their place in the championship playoffs, while El Kanemi Warriors, Gombe United and Bendel Insurance were relegated.
FC Ifeanyiubah beat Group B winners Akwa United to book their place in the Super 6, while Kano Pillars had already qualified for the playoffs last weekend and so the 3-0 hammering they suffered at Abia Warriors today was of very little consequence.
Akwa United finished top on 38 points from 22 matches, a point ahead of second-placed Kano Pillars, while FC Ifeanyiubah were third on 36 points.
At the other end of the table, Northeastern clubs El Kanemi Warriors, Gombe United and Yobe Desert Stars as well as Go Round FC were all demoted.
Yobe Stars finished bottom of the standings after they lost 2-0 at home to Nasarawa United. They recorded a mere 15 points from 22 matches.
Go Round fell at home to Gombe United 1-0 for both teams to plunge to the lower league.
Go Round had 27 points, while Gombe United and El Kanemi had 30 points each.
Heartland survived on the back of a 2-0 home win over El Kanemi.
In Group A, Enugu Rangers finished at the summit with 40 points despite losing 1-0 at Wikki Tourists.
Lobi Stars finished second on 35 points after holding already relegated Remo Stars to a goalless draw, while Enyimba were third despite losing 2-1 at Katsina United.
Enyimba recorded 33 points, a point more than MFM FC.
Sunshine Stars survived the dreaded drop after a 4-2 home win over Southwest rivals MFM FC, who as a result missed out on the playoffs.
Dayo Ojo fired a hat-trick for the Akure club.
Bendel Insurance made a quick return to the lower league no thanks to a lone goal loss at Rivers United.
Kwara United and Niger Tornadoes were the other teams to go down in Group A.
NPFL Results Today:
Sunshine *4-2* MFM
(Dayo Ojo 18′ PEN, 25′ PEN, 90′; Anthony Omaka 45′ – Alade Balogun 30′, Chijioke Akuneto 57′)
Wikki *1-0* Rangers
(Manu Garba 61′)
Katsina *2-1* Enyimba
(Martins Usule 35′, Tasiu Lawal 65′ PEN – Chinedu Udechukwu 90+1′)
Tornadoes *0-1* Kwara
(Afeez Nosir 40′)
Remo *0-0* Lobi
Rivers *1-0* Insurance
(Konan Roffin 71′ PEN)
Yobe *1-2* Nasarawa
(Adamu Ali 45+2′ – Sunusi Ibrahim 12′ PEN, 40′)
Abia *3-0* Pillars
(Tunde Abdulsalami 9′, Samson Obi 52′, Emeka Isaac 60′)
Heartland *2-0* El-Kanemi
(Chukwudi Nwaodu 23′, Uche Oguchi 82′)
Delta *0-0* Plateau
Go-Round *0-1* Gombe
(Adam Mohammed 9′)
FCIU *2-1* Akwa
(Chijioke Alaekwe 31′, Christian Nnaji 79′ – Ocheme Edoh 87′)
*Qualified For Super 6*
Group A
Enugu Rangers
Lobi Stars
Enyimba
*Relegated To NNL*
Bendel Insurance
Kwara United
Niger Tornadoes
Remo Stars
*Group B
Qualified For Super 6*
Akwa United
Kano Pillars
FC Ifeanyi Ubah
*Relegated To NNL*
Gombe United
El Kanemi Warriors
Go Round FC
Yobe Desert Stars
By Kola Daniel
