By: Abdulquadir Adedapo

The maiden edition of the Unity Preseason Cup Tournament comes to an end on Sunday when NPFL sides Nasarawa United file out against Plateau United in an all NPFL finals after both sides overcame strong oppositions to reach the final of the competition.

Having been drawn in Group A of the Competition, the Solid Miners recovered from an early slip to advance as group winners before facing another NPFL side Katsina United in the semi-finals with the Lafia based side progressing to the finals on penalty after regulation time ended 1-1.

For Plateau United, it was a rather nervy run in the group stages for The Peace Boys who had to dig deep in their final game of group C to topple non-league side SimonBen and finish top of the group.

A semifinals cash against Wikki Tourist saw Fidelis Ilechukwu produce one of the best performances of the competition with his boys as they clinically dispatched the Giants Elephants 2-1 to reach Sunday’s final.

Road to Final.
Nasarawa United
Draw 1-1 against Cynosure FC
5-0 win over Mavlon FC
3-0 win over Fosla
Semifinals
Defeated Katsina United 1-1 (7-6) on penalties

Plateau United.
1-0 win over Waco Academy
Lost 2-1 to Sokoto United
Thrashed SimonBen 6-0.
Semifinals
Defeated Wikki Tourist 2-1.

Players to Watch
Nasarawa United.
The duo of Abubakar and Tolu Olowaole are in the running for the golden boots for the Lafia based with both players scoring twice in the competition. Having scored 10 goals and conceded just 2 goals, the Solid Miners also have plenty of goal options with the likes of Silas Nwankwo and Abdullahi Abubakar all finding the net already.

Plateau United.
The Peace Boys are also not shy in front of goal having scored 9 goals from 4 games in the competition, Plateau United are engineered by the trio of Ruben Bala, Muhammed Zulikiflu, and Victor Arikpo who have all found the net twice each, a big worry for the backline of Nasarawa United.

Last Five Meetings
Nasarawa United 2 Plateau United 0
Plateau United 1 Nasarawa United 0
Plateau United 2 Nasarawa United 1
Nasarawa United 1 Plateau United 1
Plateau United 2 Nasarawa United 1