Katsina United will be in search of a first-ever goal against Dakkada when the duo meets inside the main bowl of the 35,000-seater Muhammadu Dikko Stadium, Katsina, in what promises to be an NPFL matchday thirty-five classic, tomorrow.
Christian Ekong pounced on a defensive melee between defender and goalkeeper to slot in the solitary goal which gifted Dakkada victory over Katsina United when these sides met in a tightly contested reverse fixture in Uyo on match day fifteen.
Dakkada come into this fixture on the heels of a statement performance at home to basement dwellers, Adamawa United which saw them record their widest margin of victory yet this campaign; a 4-0 win over a now mathematically-confirmed relegated United side to improve a goal difference that has been misrepresentative of their outstanding accomplishments this season.
However, bearing the brunt of a congested end-of-season schedule has never been much worse for any other NPFL side than it is for Dakkada these days. The Chosen Ones have had to embark on journeys to Bauchi and back, to Kaduna and back and now to the northwestern state of Katsina before returning to Uyo to prep themselves for next weekend’s trip to Jos which lies on the other side of a midweek mouth-watering home fixture against Nasarawa United.
It is therefore commonplace to expect some Dakkada players to be mentally and physically fatigued from all that stress and hassles as reflected on their performance in recent away matches and Head Coach Umar Danlami would know that any form of rest and players rotation would be both welcome and priceless as the season winds down.
United arrive this contest off the back of a run of three consecutive draws including a spirited goalless draw at Sunshine Stars in midweek which steers them further clear of the red zone and submerges their hosts just into the unwanted murky relegation waters.
Although Katsina United have scored a total of thirty-two goals this term and parade a ten-goal striker in the shape of Rasheed Ahmed, the Changi Boys, interestingly, have yet to find the back of the net against Dakkada in two years of football. Any attempts to change that statistic tomorrow will be met with stiff-necked opposition from a Dakkada defense line that has been breached more than once in a match only on two occasions in the last twelve NPFL duels.
United Head Coach Baldwin Bazuaye is no stranger to squad rotation which has injected some freshness into his squad and ultimately makes it difficult to predict the starting eleven that will file out tomorrow.
In midweek, the former Bendel Insurance boss made three alterations to his previous start list with the inclusion of Ayo, Mathew, and Olayinka in place of Yushau, Mansoor, and Habibu but has continued to give starts to their two foreign imports from the Niger Republic, goalkeeper Daouda Kassaly who has kept five clean sheets in his last six engagements and winger Mahamadou Souley.
United will have to deal with the absence of Samuel Kalu who joined them directly from FC Ifeanyi Ubah at the back end of last season, the seven-goal winger has accumulated five yellow cards and is expected to be omitted from tomorrow’s proceedings.
Depending on what rankles on the mind of Coach Danlami, Dakkada may elect to immediately draft in midfielder Solomon Chigozie and striker Musa Bashiru who are again available for selection having both sat out the midweek meeting with Adamawa United for varying reasons. Will they keep faith with the youngsters who came on and sparkle in midweek or redirect such faith in the direction of the old horses?
Too many goals should not be expected in a fixture such as this which pits two defensively stout sides against each other.
Kick-off is at four o’clock in the afternoon while live text updates and video highlights are available on all social media platforms of Dakkada Football Club.
KEY STATS
• Only seven players have scored all of Katsina United’s thirty-two goals with Rasheed Ahmed the leading scorer with ten while Dakkada’s thirty-six goals have been scored by fifteen players with Isaac George the leading scorer with seven.
• Katsina United have been brandished two red cards and awarded five penalty kicks while Dakkada have two red cards and four penalty kicks so far.
• The record stands at eleven wins, five draws and one loss in seventeen home ties for Katsina United while it stands at three wins, two draws and twelve losses in seventeen away matches for Dakkada.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
NPFL 2020/2021
Dakkada 1-0 Katsina United (14/03/2021)
NPFL 2019/2020
Katsina United 0-0 Dakkada (18/12/2019)
LATEST RESULTS
Sunshine Stars 0-0 Katsina United
Dakkada 4-0 Adamawa United
Katsina United 1-1 Lobi Stars
Kano Pillars 2-0 Dakkada
MFM 0-0 Katsina United
Dakkada 1-0 Heartland
Katsina United 3-0 FCIU
Wikki Tourists 2-1 Dakkada
Jigawa GS 0-1 Katsina United
Dakkada 2-0 Kwara United
REMAINING FIXTURES
Rangers Vs Katsina United
Dakkada Vs Nasarawa United
Katsina United Vs Abia Warriors
Plateau United Vs Dakkada
Kwara United Vs Katsina United
Dakkada Vs Enyimba
