Relegation-threatened Remo Stars celebrated the return of head coach Kennedy Boboye to the dugout with a 1-0 victory over a tepid Sunshine Stars in Sagamu on Matchday 18 of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) on Thursday.

Boboye had missed training all of last week and didn’t travel with Group A’s bottom team in their 3-2 loss at Katsina United on Matchday 17 but was on hand to witness Victor Mbaoma score the winner to keep survival hopes alive. Remo Stars remain rock bottom of Group A and are six points adrift of safety with just four games of the regular season left.

In the group’s other game, Sikiru Alimi’s goal ensured Lobi Stars remained in the hunt for a playoff spot after they earned a narrow victory over Bendel Insurance at the Aper Aku Stadium in Makurdi. Fourth-placed Stars are just a point behind MFM who occupy the last playoff spot while Insurance, the group’s lowest scoring side having scored just 10 goals all season drop to ninth on the log one point from safety.   

In Group B, Abia Warriors kept their NPFL hopes alive with a comprehensive 3-0 defeat of visiting FC Ifeanyiubah at the Umuahia Township Stadium. Having found goals hard to come by in recent matches – they’d had scored just once in six previous outings – Thursday’s match was positively a goal glut with Warriors going three up through goals from Tunde Abdulsalami, Ibrahim Olawoyin, and Shedrack Asiegbu. Chibuike Eze missed a chance to put some respectability on the scoreline for the visitors when his spot-kick late in the second half was saved. Warriors move up to tenth on the log and three points from safety while their opponents stay in third place.

In Thursday’s last bit of action, Kano Pillars earned a valuable point at Nasarawa United to keep their bid for a playoff spot alive. Pillars in fourth place stay two points behind FC Ifeanyiubah with four games left till the end of the regular season.

2018/2019 NPFL MATCH DAY 18 RESULTS

GROUP A

THURSDAY 09-05-2019

LOBI STARS 1-0 BENDEL INSURANCE

(Sikiru Alimi 62’)

REMO STARS 1-0 SUNSHINE STARS

(Victor Mbaoma 71’)

GROUP B

THURSDAY 09-05-2019

NASARAWA UNITED 0-0 KANO PILLARS

ABIA WARRIORS 3-0 FC IFEANYIUBAH

(Tunde Abdulsalami 26’, Ibrahim Olawoyin 51’, Shedrack Asiegbu 68’)