Victor Namo has told SuperSport.com that Kano Pillars have played themselves into a title-challenging position in this season’s Nigeria Premier League (NPL) following their 3 – 2 win in Saturday’s Week 33 game.
The 22-year-old striker, who has netted six times for Kano Pillars this term, admitted that Dolphins are full of quality.
Following the edgy note on which Pillars secured all points against Dolphins, Namo predicted that the race for the Premier League title will go down to the wire.
“It was good for us to win against Dolphins to give us a good chance at taking a shot at this season’s league title. I must confess that it was a difficult game against Dolphins in spite of the fact that we were playing before our home crowd. They (Dolphins) showed us why they are also in the title race this season.
“I have deep respect for the way Dolphins played against us. They were never intimidated by the presence of our fans at our home ground. Dolphins pushed us till the very last minute of the game and that tells you that this season’s title race will be very, very close and will be determined on the last day of the season,” Namo told SuperSport.com.
Kano Pillars started the game against Dolphins with Abdul Haruna opening score on 13 minutes before Emma Nwachi pulled the away side level 12 minutes later.
Namo got his name on the score sheet on 56 minutes but Dolphins responded within two minutes through defender Uche Oguchi.
With the game heading for a tensed finish, Gambo Mohammed missed a penalty on the stroke of full time and four minutes into added time Rabiu Ali made no mistake from the spot when the centre referee awarded another penalty to the home side.
Namo believes that his side’s next two away games at Gombe United and Niger Tornadoes will go a long way in determining their title aspiration.
“Our next game is against Gombe United away. It is always difficult because it is a northern derby. We also have an away game to Niger Tornadoes. If we can get wins in these games I can say we might just get closer to winning the league this season,” said the former Mighty Jets man.
Kano Pillars are third on the NPL log with 59 points – one behind joint leaders, Sunshine Stars and Dolphins in that order.
But the joint leaders have one outstanding game each to play.
KANO PILLARS LAST 5 GAMES
03/08 v Gombe United (A)
06/08 v Ocean Boys (H)
13/08 v Niger Tornadoes (A)
No date v Sunshine Stars (H)
No date v Warri Wolves (A)
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