Daga Daniel scored in second-half stoppage time to secure a point for Dakkada in an NPFL opening day fixture away to Bayelsa United, Sunday.
The Flying Eagles midfielder reached at the end of a poor defensive clearance by Moses Awala from a corner-kick to head home beautifully and cancel out Robert Mozi’s first-half opener.
The result takes Dakkada to fourth place in the early standings of Group B, just behind the trio of Abia Warriors, Niger Tornadoes and defending Champions, Rivers United, the only sides who secured victories in their respective outings, and leaves Bayelsa United, who are riding on a fifteen-match unbeaten home run, just beneath them.
Having dominated their opponents especially in the second half, Dakkada were well worth their share of the spoils and were seconds away from snatching a win only if Jonathan Prosper, who was introduced in the second half for captain Aniekan Ekpe, chose the better judgment of allowing Israel Emmanuel’s low cross to sail through to an unmarked Emmanuel Ayaosi who would have had the chance to score one of the cheapest goals of his career from a tap-in with the gaping but the bulky attacker intercepted and blazed skywards.
Speaking after the entertaining encounter, Dakkada Head Coach, Umar Danlami, praised the gallantry of Bayelsa United but maintains that his side deserved a win.
“I think Bayelsa United are a good team with a lot of good players but on the balance of play and on account of the number of chances that we missed, especially in the second half, I would say that we probably deserved to win here today”, Danlami said.
“We defeated them in a pre-season friendly a few weeks ago which gave us the heads-up as regards what to expect from them and I think we put that into some pretty good use”, he added.
On his part, Coach Dipreye Teibowei of Bayelsa United congratulated Dakkada on their performance and noted that he was going to channel the lessons learnt towards improving his team in subsequent matches.
Up next, Dakkada will play hosts to Wikki Tourists of Bauchi at Nest of Champions, Uyo, while Bayelsa United will embark on a trip to Abia Warriors when day two fixtures get underway this Wednesday, January 18.
