Nasarawa United delivered an impressive display, defeating Flight FC of Gboko 2-0 in their President Federation’s Cup Round of 64 match on Wednesday at Jos International Stadium.
It didn’t take long for the Premier League side to stamp their authority.bet9ja.com Ugochukwu Leonard, returning to the squad, opened the scoring in the sixth minute after connecting perfectly with a precise pass from John Joshua. The early breakthrough lifted the team’s confidence, and just eleven minutes later, right-back Kabir Balogun doubled the lead with a sensational free-kick that left the opposing goalkeeper rooted to the spot.
Despite their dominance and several opportunities in the second half, Nasarawa United couldn’t add to their tally, but their two early goals proved enough to book their place in the Round of 32 of Nigeria’s oldest club knockout competition.
The victory was celebrated by prominent figures, including Nasarawa United FC Chairman Solomon Babanjah and the Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Hon.bet9ja.com Kwanta Yakubu. They were joined by former Deputy Governor Professor Onje Gye-wado and Hon.bet9ja.com Larry Ven-Bawa, who led the state delegation to cheer on the team.
Nasarawa United now await the outcome of the fixture between Ijele FC of Enugu and Lautau FC of Jigawa to discover their next opponents. With two past runner-up finishes in the National Challenge Cup, the team will be eager to go one step further this year.
Their attention now turns to the Nigeria Premier Football League, where they face a challenging league encounter against defending champions Rangers International FC on Friday, March 21, at the Lafia City Stadium.
Editorial
We can’t help but feel a surge of pride watching Nasarawa United display such confidence and quality in the President Federation’s Cup. From the first whistle, the intent was clear: they were not there to merely participate