Upsets in the MatchDay 15 of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) continued on Thursday with Anas Yusuf lifting lowly placed Nasarawa United at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium against a hitherto high riding Dakkada FC on a day they were most uninspiring.

Yusuf in the 30th minute executed a corner kick from which Ibrahim Matthew tapped in the opener, before he buried two late goals in the 89th and 94th minutes.

It was Dakkada FC’s third NPFL loss this season but they looked to have started with the firepower of a strong home team creating and missing early chances before Nasarawa United took control of the game and tore them apart.

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For a team that usually terrorised their hosts, most predictors had them as favourites, especially against Nasarawa United that have been woeful both home and away.

Dakkada FC found it difficult holding on to possession and it was evident from the first minute when they kicked off the match and lost possession to Nasarawa that went on a quick counter.

In the 9th minute, Femi Ajayi missed a one on one chance and a couple of minutes later, he set up Spencer Marcos but Danlami Umar saved the weak attempt from Spencer to save Nasarawa early blushes.

Then came the goal in the 30th minute, when Ibrahim Matthew scored the opener from Anas Yusuf freekick.

The Dakkada FC fans were still hopeful their team would still turn things around especially as they forced Danlami Umar into making numerous saves.

First half ended with the host trailing and they did not look totally in control at the restart. With another Uyo-based team, Akwa United losing at home to Kwara United on Wednesday, the fans became anxious but not the supporters club that kept up the tempo of their cheering until the end of the match.

Compounding trouble for the Uyo-based team, Captain Aniekan Ekpe who came in as a substitute, wasted an opportunity to restore parity missing a penalty.

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That penalty could have turned things around for Dakkada but however, it upset the team as Yusuf in the 89th minute caught the defenders napping and buried another chance after beating Victor Edafe in goal.

That followed with another of his strikes in added time when Dakkada went on a counter and left their defence open, Abubakar Lawal made a run and passed the ball to Yusuf who completed his brace to hand the visitors a 3-0 win against fifth-placed Dakkada FC.

The victory lifted Nasarawa United from the 20th position to the seventeenth position with a game at hand against fellow relegation strugglers, Rangers.

Speaking after the match, Nasarawa United acting Manager, Abubakar Arikya, acknowledged the quality of Dakkada FC team, noting that it was a bad day in the office for them.

“The team is not a bad side. They are good. It’s just that it is not their day today”.

For Dakkada FC coach, Caleb Esu who was stunned by the scoreline, he said his team may have been complacent against Nasarawa United, adding that the players did not do badly but were recovering from fatigue.

“Actually all I needed was the maximum three points and I instructed the players on how we should go about it. May be complacency may have set in. I have never played a game and conceded 3 goals. It has never happened in my history of football”.

Anas Yusuf who was voted man of the match was one goal short of going home with the matchday ball.

Source: npfl.ng

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