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Defending champions House of Prayer (HOP FA) began their AMAPRO Football Championship title defense on a winning note with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Cornerstone FC in the first round of matches.
Salaudeen Moshood scored the only goal of the game just two minutes into the match, giving HOP FA an early lead.
Despite sustained pressure from Cornerstone in search of an equaliser, Coach Oniye’s team remained disciplined in defense to secure the three points.
Former champions Abraysports recovered from a goal down to earn a 1-1 draw against a well-organized Ka’ah FC.
Ahmed Sodiq opened the scoring in the 53rd minute with a stunning bicycle kick for the debutants before Solomon Olamilekan converted a penalty in the 75th minute to restore parity for Abraysports.
Both sides pushed for a late winner but settled for a share of the spoils.
Dohz Soccer Academy and Araba FC also tied 1-1, both goals coming from penalty spots.
Peter Ogunkoya gave Araba FC the lead just after the hour mark, while Adebayo Oni converted a penalty in the 87th minute to rescue a point for Dohz SA.
Dickalo FA beat NA Royal 4-3 in one of the most entertaining matches of the day.
Hanafi Babatunde put NA Royal ahead in the 22nd minute but Dickalo FA responded through Abba Yakubu and Ibrahim Ganusa in the 54th and 56th minutes respectively.
Matthew Adeyemi scored twice in the 70th and 85th minutes to give Dickalo control.
Funsho Funto pulled one back late for NA Royal, but Dickalo held on for the win.
Gaa Akanbi FC put in an impressive performance to defeat Amapro FC 2-0.
Boluwatife Ajina broke the deadlock on the stroke of half-time before Egwaikhide Samuel converted a penalty in the 67th minute to secure the victory.
Debutants TOE FC also got off to a dream start with a comfortable 2-0 win over HMK FC.
Opening goals from Ilani Joshua and Moshood Yusuf in the 13th and 18th minutes were enough to secure maximum points.
Last year’s runners-up Discovery FA staged a remarkable comeback from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Blinz FC.
Ajiboye Sodiq and Aremu had given Blinz a big lead before Discovery responded, with Zaharadeen Ibrahim scoring a sublime late free-kick to give his team a point.
One of the biggest surprises of the opening day was when Laycon FA defeated the NPFL All-Stars, announcing themselves as one of the first surprise packages of the tournament.
Offa’s team took an early lead through Toafeek Babatunde and Olaniyi Moshood in the 8th and 22nd minutes respectively, but Ahmed Yakubu halved the deficit on the stroke of half-time.
NPFL Allstars pushed hard for an equalizer but Laycon FA defended resolutely to seal the shock victory.
The opening day matches were played simultaneously at the Rashidi Yekini Main Bowl and the KFA Pitch inside the George Innih Stadium, Ilorin.
The action continues on Tuesday with the following matches.
Ka’ah FC vs Amapro FC – 8 am
Abraysports vs Gaa Akanbi FC – 8am
HMK FC v Discovery FA – 10am
Blinz FC vs. TOE FC – 10 a.m.
Dickalo FA against HOP FA – 2:00 p.m.
NA Royal vs. Cornerstone FC – 2 p.m.
Araba FC vs Laycon FA – 4:00 p.m.
NPFL All-Stars against Dohz SA – 4:00 p.m.
