Underdogs Rule on NPFL Final Day
The most competitive championship in the world, the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL), comes to a final stop this Saturday after nine months of incredible moments trimming down the race for the title to just two teams; Plateau United and MFM FC.
All season, and even before the start of the campaign, there has been a constant spin by pundits on how the title race will shape up and who will finish in the top-three or survive the drop. Now all that will come to a halt like train on a steam engine whistling to a stop. The talk centered on the big guns Rangers International and Enyimba who have won the title seven times apiece as well as Rivers United that recruited some of the best talents in the country plus a pre-season in Spain.
However Jos club, Plateau United and MFM FC have rewritten that script. Two teams battling for survival last season have switched things and it is safe to call it the ‘season of the underdogs.’
TITLE RACE
It now seems like yesterday when Rangers International were crowned champions of the NPFL at their Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium home ground in front of their faithful amid a sea of red and white on 2 October, 2016.
Eleven months after the Rangers story of winning a first league title in 32 years, a different narrative unfolded with two teams Plateau United and MFM FC, who have never won the trophy, going into the final day neck and neck. One point separates table-topping Plateau United on 63 points and second-placed MFM. So the NPFL will witness a 19th champion this Saturday no matter where the pendulum swings.
As the season wore on, things remained the same at the top. After every match day, Plateau United kept remaining at the top of the standings except on only four occasions when MFM wrested top spot from them on Match-days 1, 14, 16 and 18. After every match-day, the top looked the same.
Kennedy Boboye’s Plateau United went on a seven-game unbeaten run at the outset of this season until Akwa United ended that run on Match-day 8 with a 2-1 win after goals from Christian Pyagbara and Ibrahim Alhassan before Chima Ndukwu came off the bench to half the deficit.
It was expected that Boboye’s men would lose momentum like previous teams Sunshine Stars and Abia Warriors he has managed did in past seasons.
Instead Plateau United have looked so assured in top spot like a well worn-slippers that fits them. But they face outgoing champions Rangers who they have only managed just one win against in their last five NPFL meetings on the final day. Add to that, Boboye’s team have failed to win in their last three league matches - a 1-1 draw at home to Rivers United and two losses on the road to ABS FC and Wikki Tourists.
Plateau United captain Elisha Golbe believes they are focused, and unfazed by the numbers. He told npfl.ng: “We are battle ready, we are looking forward to lifting the league title. The game against Rangers is like a cup final for us and we are taking it very seriously. We have not come this far to miss out on the trophy.”
On the other hand, MFM has largely depended on home form to stay in the race. Eighteen of their 17 victories (51 per cent, being the highest this season) have been at their Agege Stadium ground. Heavy defeats at FC Ifeanyiubah, Nasarawa United and Niger Tornadoes have not helped their goals difference. On this basis, some pundits are already handing the title to Plateau United considering MFM’s final day opponents are El-Kanemi who are undefeated in their last 31 home matches since a 3-1 defeat to Akwa United in March last year.
BIG BOYS FALTER INTO CONTINENTAL TUSSLE
With MFM and Plateau United already assured of CAF Champions League spots, two of the big hitters are now left scrambling for what looks like crumbs from the table - a place in the less-fancied CAF Confederation Cup. Rangers, Rivers United and Kano Pillars initially tipped to finish in the top-three have found the going tough while the fight for third place is now between Akwa United and Enyimba with the former having their tails between their legs going into the final day.
The Peoples Elephant are favourites to land the final place in the top-three ahead of Akwa United as they have a point superior over Abdu Maikaba’s team. Nevertheless they have to prove that when they face relegation-threatened Katsina United at the UJ Esuene Stadium in Calabar where they have won their last 13 home games. The Promise Keepers will only hope Katsina United do them a favour while they aim to pull off a win over Kano Pillars as the race for third place is out of their hands to determine.