Nigeria Content Online

League
leaders, Dolphins, are looking to consolidate their position and have
set their sights on a win when they come up against Niger Tornadoes in
Minna on Saturday.

Niger Tornadoes
have not had the best of seasons, having gone three matches without a
win since their opening weekend victory over Crown at the Bako
Kotangora Stadium in Minna. The only point the side, handled by Ladan
Bosso, have collected since the 1-0 win over Crown arrived in
penultimate weekend’s goalless draw at home to newly promoted JUTH.
Last weekend, they lost 2-1 to Lobi Stars at the latter’s temporary
home in Jalingo to add to an earlier 3-1 loss to Heartland in Owerri.
Those losses pushed the Minna side to 16th spot on the table so a win
is vital for Bosso’s side and they will be hoping that the presence of
their teeming fans will be able to motivate them to victory over the
league leaders and propel them further up the table.

But Dolphins won’t
go down that easily. Apart from their 1-0 loss to city rivals Sharks
two weeks ago, the side has given early indications of being capable of
challenging for a first league title since 2004. Just last weekend, the
former two-time winners of the league, who have already won a game on
the road this season; a 1-0 victory over Plateau United, also defeated
a previously undefeated Gombe United side 3-0 in Port Harcourt to
return to the league’s summit.

Going for victory

And according to
the Port Harcourt side’s manager, Stanley Eguma, the plan of the club
right now is to maintain their position at the top of the table. “It
was a good win for us against Gombe last week,” said Eguma. “A good but
difficult win, but we thank God that the players came through at least
in the second half to score those beautiful goals. Now [that] we have
returned to the top, we want to remain there; so we are going to Minna
to score goals and come back with a result. The side have scored five
times already this season. That is exactly the same number of goals
Tornadoes have let in this season but none of those were conceded in
Minna. “We know Minna is a difficult place to play,” said Eguma. “But I
also want to say that my players now have more cohesion and the sky can
only be the limit for us.”

Also on Saturday, Kwara United, who last weekend lost 1-0 to Crown,
will welcome Heartland, who are on a three-match unbeaten run, to the
Offa Township Stadium; while bottom of the table, Plateau United, will
be hoping to finally grab their first win of the season when they take
on Bukola Babes at the Rwang Pam Stadium, Jos. However, Plateau United
have already lost twice this season in Jos.