Victor Mbaoma scored a
controversial penalty in the 88th minute to helped bottom placed Remo Stars
salvage a 2-2 draw against in-form Akwa United at the Gateway International
stadium in Sagamu on Wednesday.
Remo Stars started the game in top
gear and took the lead inside the opening three minutes when Captain Victor
Mbaoma headed in a connecting header from a corner kick.
Akwa United settled in quickly and
responded nicely in the 25th minute when Ubong Friday equalised, tapping in
Alhassan Ibrahim's cross following a clever exchange of passes between Ifeanyi
and Harmony.
The two teams made series of
attempts to increase their tally but failed short of hitting the target as the
first half ended 1-1
On resumption of play in the second
half, both teams continued where the left off in the first half. But it was
Remo stars duo of Awoyemi Abiodun and Salefu Ochowechi that rattled Akwa
United's woodwork from set pieces.
With ten minutes to the end of the
match, striker Musa Newman who was a thorn in the flesh of Remo Stars defenders
put pressure on goalkeeper Walbe David whose poor clearance was received by
Ifeanyi.
The midfielder's inch perfect pass
was brilliantly controlled by Newman who blasted the ball beyond the goalkeeper
and into the far post to put the Promise Keepers in front.
But just when Coach Abdu Maikaba
boys thought they would be heading back to Uyo with all three points, referee
Francis Agbaegbu from Niger State awarded controversial penalty to the home
team, much to the surprise of fans at the stadium.
A pass inside the box hit Ifeanyi
on the groin but the referee pointed to the spot. Victor Mbaoma stepped up to
score and rescue a point for the struggling Sagamu based team.
The draw sees Akwa United maintaining
their fourth position on the log with 40 points from 25 matches while Remo
Stars still occupied bottom of the table.
The Promise Keepers will next face
Enyimba International in Uyo this weekend.
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