Nigeria Professional Football League title holders Akwa United clinched their 11th win of the season following a hard fought 1-0 victory over Niger Tornadoes on match-day 29 at the Nest of Champions.
Etim Mathew’s 82nd minute penalty secure all three points for the Promise Keepers and push them up to 5th on the log.
The win in Uyo saw the champions do the double over Niger Tornadoes this season, after beating them by the same scoreline in Abuja on Match-day 9.
Akwa United maintained their head-to-head dominance over the Minna based side with seven wins in their last ten meetings in the league.
Coach Ayodeji Ayeni’s team dominated the game from the blast of the referee’s whistle, created good scoring opportunities but simply could not put them away with Wisdom Fernando, Samuel Amadi, Bello Babatunde, Seth Mayi and Franklin Matib all missing their chances as they were held to a goalless draw by the visitors at halftime.
On resumption of play, coach Ayeni made some tactical changes and introduced David Onovo, Kaham Platini, Austin Osayande and Akarandut Orok into the game in a bid to push for the much needed victory.
David Onovo came close to scoring in the 62nd minute when his well-taken shot crashed against the post. The breakthrough however came nine minutes from time when David Onovo was brought down inside the box after a clever interchange with Akarandut Orok.
Referee Grema Muhammad spotted the infringement and awarded a penalty to Akwa United. Etim Mathew took the responsibility and scored from the spot to win the game for his side.
The win move Akwa United to 5th on the table with 44 points from 29 matches. They will next travel to Ilorin to engage Kwara United on match-day 30 this weekend.
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