With the season entering its business end, Nasarawa United are showing that they should not be rule out of a top-three place for a second consecutive season as they are ready to steal acontinental ticket from the grasp of any of the pacesetting teams.
Tayo Fabiyi scored a brace in the game and in-form Abdulrahman Bashir got among the scorers to ensure that Nasarawa United cruisedpast El-Kanemi.T
he Solid Miners continued from where they stopped midweek in the Federation Cup as theyreturned to familiar terrain to teach El-Kanemi Warriors some real football lessons before an appreciable crowd.
It was not that El-Kanemi were poor on the day, it is just that Nasarawa United were excellent with some defence splitting passes and clever runs down the flanks by a player turning out to be one of the best right backs in the NPFL this season, Ifeanyi Nweke.
If the long range effort from Ichull Lordson which came off the bar had gone in, the story would have been much different on the day. To imagine too that Esosa Igbinoba also missed a 22nd minute penalty explains the intensity of the home team from start to finish.
After the penalty miss, they still swarmed El-Kanemi's goal area and then went ahead 10 minutes laterwhen striker Fabiyi stole in through a packed defence line, to drop a looping header beyond El-Kanemi goalkeeper, Kazeem Yekeen.
That goal came in the 32nd minute and that was how the first half ended with Nasarawa United leading by a lone goal. The second half began with El-Kanemi approaching the game with so much zest in attack.
The pair of Chinedu Ohanachom and Isiaka Olawale were constant threats to their hosts but their few efforts caused no damage until El-Kanemi again went ahead through Bashir who evaded an offside trap to coolly tap in after a brilliantly floated pass into the area from Thomas Zenke fell beautifully for him to volley past Yekeen.
Isiaka Olawale got a standing ovation as he attempted a long range shot from all of 45 yards that almost caught Nasarawa United goalkeeper, Suraj Ayeleso, off his line. However, the ovation had rarely died down for Olawale's audacious attempt than Fabiyi turn up at the other end to drill the final nail into the coffin of El-Kanemi.
The former Sharks man scored a beauty from 20 yards to send the spectators at the stadium into wild jubilation. That goal came in the 85th minute. Two minutes later, Fabiyi was replaced by Samuel Agba.
Nasarawa United have now moved into sixth spot from ninth on the NPFL table having garnered 40 points. For El-Kanemi, they drop a place down in the ranking to 14th following their three-nil loss.
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