Still basking in the euphoria of their 1-1 draw at Enugu Rangers, Lobi Stars are in a buoyant spirit to welcome fellow NPFL giants, Abia Warriors in their matchday 13 fixture slated for Sunday, April 9, at the New Jos Township Stadium, Plateau State.
The eagerly anticipated tie between the two NPFL heavyweights has generated huge interest among football stakeholders and commentators as they analyze the activities that may likely take place.
To many commentators, it is a must-win tie for Lobi Stars who are highly favoured yet not ready to take chances in their chase for a ticket to the Super 6 where they hope to qualify to represent Nigeria in the continent next year.
This means it is a clash of the Titans but Lobi Stars’ ambition of qualifying for the playoff is sacrosanct and the maximum points remain central as all eyes will be focused on Jos Centre for an entertaining showdown.
Lobi Stars gaffer, Mohammed Baba Ganaru after guiding the lads throughout the training sessions, has sharpened his arsenal with the needed tactics to terrorise the visitors in front of home fans to consolidate on the result secured on matchday 12 in Awka a couple of days ago.
The former Kano Pillars manager will be happy to welcome the duo of Monday Akile and Suur Kumaga back into the team for the first time since the start of the NPFL second stanza. They have been away for a national assignment.
The scorer of the Matchday 12 tie Elijah Ani is much available together with Moses Tsehuan, Sunday Chinedu, Umar Abba, Daniel Atsaka, Orji Kalu, Francis Odinaka and Joseph Atule all ready for Erastus Onuh and his men who suffered a humiliating 1-5 loss at Bayelsa United in their last match.
A cursory look at the last three meetings of the two clubs shows that Abia Warriors recorded two wins (1-2,3-0), while Lobi Stars won 1(0-1).
The Head Coach of Abia Warriors, Erasmus Onuh will be expecting better performance from Musa Najere, Mustafa Jubrin, Lukeman Bello and Prince Okorie in tomorrow’s tie as he seeks redemption against the Group ‘B’ table toppers.
