Shooting Stars head coach Nurudeen Aweroro voiced his disappointment over his team’s loss to Nasarawa United, but also praised the opponents for their impressive performance in the match, SportPremi reports.
The Oluyole Warriors were unbeaten in their previous outings, winning two and recording a single draw, but suffered defeat in the clash at the Lafia Township Stadium on Monday.
It also marked their fifth defeat of the season, ending their momentum as they seek to close the gap to the continental positions.
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The Ibadan boys remain in seventh position on the Nigerian Premier Football League standings with 23 points from their opening 16 matches, having won six times, drawn five and suffered five defeats so far.
Nasarawa United, meanwhile, moved back into top spot with their win with 30 points, two more than Ikorodu City who are in second spot.
Shooting Stars momentum halted as Nasarawa move to the summit of the standings
Nasarawa United headed into the clash with just one defeat from their previous five matches, while Shooting Stars were hoping to build on their midweek performance against defending champions Remo Stars.
In a keenly contested clash, both sides traded chances to get on the scoresheet, as the first half ended in a goalless draw.
The hosts broke the deadlock in the 65th minute, as midfielder Moyi Hassan struck to give them the lead.
No further goals were scored in the clash as Nasarawa United picked up all three points and continue their title chase for the 2025-26 campaign.
What Aweroro said after the clash
Nurudeen Aweroro who took over the role of head coach at Shooting Stars ahead of the new season was very disappointed his side could not get a point from the clash.
However, he recognized the opponent’s quality and praised them for a solid display.
“It’s a disappointing result for us today, but we are grateful to God for the outcome,” Aweroro said after the game.
“Nasarawa United are not a bad side. It’s a team with great quality, and they won today because luck was on their side.
However, we won’t relent until we achieve our goal for the season. As per our next game, we will regroup and take advantage over the next game.”
Nasarawa United head coach Abubakar Arikya also gave his own view of the match, expressing satisfaction with his side’s display as they moved to the top of the league standings.
“We deserved to win because we played better, without undermining the efforts of our opponents who gave us a run for our money”, he said.
Nasarawa United return to action next Sunday when they face a crucial clash against Plateau United, while Shooting Stars also face newly-promoted Barau FC on the same day.
