From near anonymity, on the Nigeria Premier Football League log, Enugu Rangers have bounced into the reckoning as title contenders after their 2-1 defeat of front runners, Remo Stars of Ikenne.
In the aftermath, it was revenge for a similar scoreline that Remo Stars inflicted on the league’s defending champions last September in Ikenne.
In the process, Remo Stars’ 77-day winning streak as well as unbeaten run came to an end. Until Sunday, Remo Stars had had an unbeaten run that spanned eight matches, seven of which they won.
They had hoped to add Enugu Rangers to the list of teams that they had achieved double against.
Before Saturday’s loss, Remo Stars had won home and away against teams like Akwa United, Abia Warriors, Sunshine Stars and Kano Pillars.
The loss notwithstanding, they still have a massive eight points ahead of their closest rivals, Shooting Stars.
In a match laced with keenness, Enugu Rangers broke the tie in the 30th minute through Isaac Saviour. The hosts doubled the lead in the 49th minute through Kingsley Maduforo.
With the match going to a close, Remo Stars bounced back and pulled a goal back through Hadi Haruna. They are known as masters of come-back as they had done against Abia Warriors when they came back from two-goal down to win 3-2 and also came from a goal down to beat Akwa United 2-1 in Uyo.
This time, Enugu Rangers averted that as they defended fiercely their dicey lead in the match.
The win catapulted the Enugu team into the third position, pulling Rivers United down to the fourth.
In Owerri, Shooting Stars hope to narrow the gap between them and the front runners, Remo Stars also faced a brick wall. They lost 2-1 to fast-improving Heartland.
Chukwuma Agor put Heartland ahead in the 30th minute before Shooting Stars levelled up from a penalty spot converted by Adam Mustapha in the 80th minute.
But their joy of scraping a point was cut short when John Bassey converted a penalty kick for Heartland in the 88th minute.
In Benin, the cycles of home teams’ victories was completed when Bendel Insurance beat Niger Tornadoes 3-0.
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