By EBube Dike

Abia Warriors needed to make a statement of intent in the Nigeria Professional Football League, NPFL 2020/2021 season and they could not have done it better after they pounded visiting Sunshine Stars 4-1 in their new home Okigwe Township stadium in the matchday 8 Wednesday.

Sadeeq Yusuf continued with his blistering form in front of goal, but his goal wasn’t enough as Abia Warriors made best of dead ball situations to hand Sunshine Stars a 4-1 defeat on match day eight in Okigwe, Wednesday.

The hosts got off to a flying start inside the opening 16 minutes through a perfectly dispatched Fatai Abdullahi’s free kick from the edge of the area.

And five minutes later, Emmanuel Ugwuka headed home from yet another free kick to cushion Abia Warriors’ lead into the break. 

Just after the hour mark, league top scorer, Yusuf met Seun Olulayo’s cross for his sixth goal of the season and offered the coach Gbenga Ogunbote tinkered side a route back into the contest.

However there was no coming back for the Owena Whales as substitute, Bello Lukman scored a header off a corner kick in the 66′, before completing his brace by volleying home a rebound in the 78′ to take the game beyond the visitors. 

It was the first win of the season for the hosts and the first defeat for Sunshine Stars in the hands of Abia Warriors in nine NPFL meetings.

In his post-match briefing, Coach Gbenga Ogunbote blamed the loss to lack of concentration adding that the team would make amends going forward.

“Sometimes you learn from mistake and this one is a big one, the important thing is to go back home and cross the Ts and dot the Is to make sure we make amend. We lost the game to loss of concentration. 

 “At this level there should be limit havoc dead ball cause; most of their goals were from dead balls. We were trying to come back before the third goal demoralised the team. I will talk to the boys, they need to be psyched up ahead of our next game.”

Sunshine Stars dropped three places to seventh on the log with 13 points and next host Kwara United on Sunday in Akure.