kano pillars v lobi stars 2009/2010 season review

Kano Pillars and Lobi Stars traded tackles last season but it was the Kano tie that excited me with good football one calm Saturday evening. The match was very much anticipated in the ancient city. The huge collection of fans trickled into the stadium hours before the crunch tie to further place the home in running for honors in the premier league.Pictured above,Pillars slot in a goal.


Beefed up with some remunerations, the home side started the game with a sleek passing technique against the backdrop of one famous side from Makurdi struggling to keep pace with the league. Pillars took the game to their visitors in the early minutes to force the goalkeeper to come out and dominate his area. No damage was done by Lobi’s counter tactics, a few started by the goalkeeper himself. Resilience seemed to take Lobi forward until the the half hour mark when the defense line buckled under pressure by conceding a penalty through its center half. The visiting number one stunned the capacity crowd by pulling a brave save from the lanky ‘Pele’s spot kick, to keep Lobi in the game.

Not for long though, a central defender lost his reading of a ball across goal from the right wing, poking it into the top left corner of his own net. The goal came after much pressure and it signaled the end of the first half.

The second half started in the same lively fashion, only this time the visitors were clearly boosted by the pep time out. As determined as ever to climb higher in the game, Lobi tried to pin Pillars back with a few scares. The goalkeeper was called to duty and he answered quickly to protect the slim lead.

Up until over the half hour mark, the game balanced itself for several periods. Lobi made a change to their defense line by bringing in Umaru, the Flying Bees fc Zaria product. His introduction as a sweeper paid some dividends as he proved a handful to opposing strikers in the air especially. Up field he put in some long throws that created anxious moments to no avail. With less than ten minutes from time, the pressure from Pillars created another opening on the right in the box. With precision,the rampaging striker poked home the second goal for the home side from close range.
Two nil in favor of the home team who hold on tightly to second spot, leaving Lobi with food for thought on the journey to Makurdi.

The return leg ended in a draw and Kano Pillars went on to finish the season in second place .Now that the club is without record goal scorer Ahmed Musa, all eyes will be on the form of the team come late September when the new Nigeria Premier league season kicks off.

Today  in the course of the Ramadan fast,Kano Pillars fc had a training session in the morning.Now the  die is cast for teams to buckle up and  launch  a strong asault on the home front and on the continent.A good pep talk and work out under the tutelage of Coach D Black will do  for now,to keep the morale of the Kano Pillars squad on a high.