A cracking low shot by Qoyum Akinpelu inside the box and early in the second half ignited Inter Lagos FC on the route to victory against Ranchers Bees of Kaduna during Wednesday’s first game at the Nigerian National League (NNL) Super-4.
Sports247 reports that Inter Lagos went on to win the game 2-0, after Bayo Oyedele struck home a 70th minute penalty, but it was Akinpelu’s opening goal that helped The Lagosians turn the tide in what had initially been a very tight encounter.
Akinpelu pounced first in the 47th minute, after an initial shot from his teammate was parried by Ranchers’ goalkeeper, and Inter Lagos heaved a sigh of relief.
From that point, it was the Lagos-based outfit that dominated play and took total control of the game, which had initially been a ding-dong affair all through the first half, without any clear-cut chance for either side.
Coach Shakiru Giwa’s squad could have even been two-up in the 49th minute, but Akinpelu lost a one-on-one opportunity with the opposing keeper, who also pulled off yet another heroic save just three minutes later.
With Inter losing several chances and failing to make their domination count, Ranchers were bound to bounce back, as The Crocodile City outfit knew losing would be disastrous, having earlier fallen 1-0 to Sporting Lagos FC on the competition’s opening day.
Wednesday, though, belonged to Giwa’s youthful side, which lost 1-0 to Doma United of Gombe on Monday, as they held on firmly this time and sealed their first three points of the mini-competition.
They will now hope to consolidate their huge mid-week gain with another victory on Friday, in what promises to be a hefty local derby on neutral ground against Sporting Lagos, who faced Doma in Wednesday’s second match.
On the other hand, Ranchers will continue licking their wounds, but coach of side, Ahmed Ahmad said his bunch of young players will use the Super-4 as a learning point ahead of their return to top-flight action in the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) next season.
Ahmad told Sports247 that the team is fully motivated by Spain-based striker, Umar Sadiq, whose encouragement he believes will continue giving the players every reason to win during the coming season.
 Super-4.){kind=link}