Akwa United’s quest for a continental ticket suffered a blow on MatchDay 27 of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) after eight-time champions, Enyimba FC of Aba, snatched a late equalizer to share the spoils in Uyo.

The Promise Keepers had hoped a win against the Elephants would help them close in on Rangers of Enugu and Remo Stars of Ikenne, occupying third and fourth place on the log, respectively. Rangers had edged Heartland 3-1 in Awka, while Remo Stars were beaten 2-0 by Abia Warriors in Okigwe on Saturday.

Enyimba had their goalkeeper, Djeri Bassa, to thank for stunning saves in the first quarter-hour. The Togolese had denied Bello Babatunde twice before stretching at full length to prevent Ubong Friday from putting the Promise Keepers ahead, just ten yards out.

Ayeni’s men had to wait till the 40th minute for a breakthrough in a half they dominated. Bello Babatubde’s 25 yards free-kick strolled past Bassa, who thought he had things covered.

Enyimba approached the second half with a different mentality, pushing the home side to defend for the first quarter-hour. The champions gathered momentum to reverse the trend midway through the half.

The visitor’s brilliant display in the second half almost earned them an equalizer ten minutes before time. Victor Mbaoma failed to make it count when he missed a sitter inside the penalty area. At the other end, Wisdom Fernando could have sealed the game for the home side on 83 minutes, but for the woodwork.

With a minute of stoppage time played, Enyimba grabbed a precious point courtesy of Mbaoma’s header inside six yards. The result pushed Enyimba to 7th on the log with 39 points, six adrift of Rangers in the race for the third place, while Akwa United is 5th.

Match Stats:
Corners: 4-2
Shots: 14-9
On Target: 7-5
Fouls Won: 14-8
Yellow: 0-3
Red: 0-0
Saves: 4-6
Offsides: 2-3

  Akwa United, Enyimba Int'l, NPFL, NPFL22, Uyo, Victor Mbaoma