The opening day of 2024 AMAPRO Soccer Championship get underway off in style at the Kwara State Stadium Complex on Monday with Defending Champions, Abraysports held to a goaless draw and 10-men NPFL All Stars beating HMK FC 2-1 in a keenly contested match.
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Setting the tone for an eventful day was the game between Abraysports and debutant Wonderxchange.
Abraysports, who are the defending champions would eventually be held to a 1-1 in what could be described as a pulsating encounter.
An own goal from WonderXChange’s Samson Adegbite gave the defending champions the lead early in the game, before Sunkanmi Adeyeye restored parity just before the break.
Gateway FA began their campaign in this year’s edition with a resounding victory defeating Laycon FA 2-1.
Wadulu Ofini opened the gate of goals for Gateway in the 33rd minutes after lobbing the ball over the out rushing goalkeeper.
Adekogba Sinnaayo extended the lead for Gateway FA with a nice finish in the 61st but Abdulwahab reduced the deficit for Laycon FA in the 77 minutes.
In the second game of the day, 10-man Ibadan City SC played out a goalless draw with Da Faria FC.
It was a keenly contested game despite the Ibadan City SC played with 10 men throughout the game, they showed resilience and determination to get a point.
It was a thrilling and pulsating game between Unicorn FC and Dickalo FA.
The game witnessed scintillating and exhilarating football artistry.
Abdullahi Umar puts Dickalo FA in front in the second minutes before Unicorn FC responded with the equalizer through Issa Jamiu three minutes later.
Victor Peter restored the lead for Dickalo FA but Ifedapo Falana levelled the terms again to make it 2-2.
Yakubu Abbas later sealed the victory for Dickalo FA with sublime finish as the game ended 3-2 in a favour of Dickalo FA.
The game between Teworh SC and KFA ended in a stalemate as both teams failed to bury their chances. It was a cagey and toe-to-toe encounter between the two sides.
It was the turn of Nigeria National League, NNL All Stars and House of Prayers to treat the fans to another interesting show.
A 79th minute classical strike from Aremu Taofeeq was what separated both sides at the end of the day which gave the boys from Nigeria second tier league the victory.
Another spectacle was the game between AMAPRO SSA and Kasam FA where the former scooped the maximum points through the lone goal from Tunde Aluko’s fantastic strike.
Rounding up the day was the encounter between NPFL All Stars and HMK FC.
Despite their numerical disadvantage which was occasioned by the red card given to Ahmed Jimoh, the NPFL boys convincingly defeated their opponents 2-1 with a show of class.
Taye Muritala scored the opener for NPFL All Stars before Waheed Adebayo added the second. Bashir Abiodun scored HMK’s only goal but it was too late to get a leveler.
Matchday One Results:
Abraysports 1-1 WonderXChange
Gateway FA 2-1 Laycon FA
House of Prayer 0-1 NNL All Stars
Da Faria 0-0 Ibadan City SC
Amapro SSA 1-0 Kasam
Unicorn FC 2-3 Dickalo FA
NPFL All Stars 2-1 HMK
Terwoh SC 0-0 KFA.
Matchday Two Fixtures (Tuesday)
Unicorn FC vs Kasam FA – 8am (Pitch A)
Laycon FA vs HMK FC – 8am (Pitch B)
WonderXchange vs Terwoh SC – 10am (Pitch A)
KFA vs Abraysports – 10am (Pitch B)
NNL All Stars vs Da Faria SC – 2pm (Pitch A)
Ibadan City vs House of Prayer – 2pm (Pitch B)
Gateway FC vs NPFL All Stars – 4pm (Pitch A)
Dickalo FA vs AMAPRO SSA – 4pm (Pitch B).
