A second half header by homegrown talent, Kumanga Suur, on his first start ensured dominant Lobi Stars, got their first ever win at table topping Abia Warriors, on Sunday, in a Nigeria Premier League match day three clash decided, in Umuahia.
It was a famous win for Lobi Stars who lost both fixtures to Abia Warriors last term.
The return of suspended Chinedu Sunday turned out to be a blessing as he was imposing in Mohammed Baba Ganaru’s match day plan.
Ganaru gave Daniel Atsaka, his first start in goal and the goalkeeper delivered a clean slate against a rampaging Warriors side that scored thrice in their last home match.
The duo of Orji Kalu and Francis Odinaka were deployed above the back four, while Anas Hassan was ahead of the duo, linking play between the midfield and attack.
Suur and Atule were on the wide flanks, terrorizing the host team defense.
The visitors first dominated play in the first half, which was characterized by missed chances.
Goal scorer, Suur, set the stage for a glorious day as he was brought down in the 9th minute close to the 18yards box after causing anxious moments.
Femi Thomas in goal for the host dealt with the situation.
It was the turn of the host in the 13th minute through Lukman Bello, but his threat was curtailed by Sunday Chinedu.
Atule had enough space on the flank and produced a beautiful cross into the box in the 22nd minute, but Thomas was alert.
Daniel produced a spectacular save for Lobi as he punched a well-taken freekick by Bell Sylvester in the 23rd minute.
It was indeed a day made for Suur as he almost gave Lobi Stars the lead with a powerful strike which was stopped by Thomas in the 32nd minute.
The best opportunity of the game came in the 38th minute when Umar Abba had a one-on-one situation. Again, experienced Thomas prevented Abba from scoring his second goal this time.
Both teams returned for the second half with same energy searching for the opener.
The right moment for the visitors came eleven minutes into resumption of play when the impressive Atule skipped past his marker Abubarka Gidado and produced a lovely cross from the left flank, which was beautifully connected by Suur, beyond the reach of Thomas for the opener.
Both coaches made tactical changes for more results as Ganaru introduced Nigerian International, Jerry Alex for Hassan Anas, in the 57th minute.
Warriors’ Coach, Erasmus Onuh, turned to experience to reduce the impact of Lobi’s youngsters.
Former Lobi striker, Musa Najere and Mustapha Jubril, were introduced by the home side.
Despite their introduction, Lobi Stars remained dominant in all departments and fought well to preserve their lead.
Ganaru applauded his side after the match, which produced Lobi’s first road trip win this time and their first ever win at Umuahia.
“The players displayed a high level of discipline”, he said.
