Bendel Insurance on Saturday defeated the El-Kanemi Warriors of Maiduguri 2-1 to extend their unbeaten run in the 2022/2023 season of the Nigerian Professional Football League.
Winless in five straight matches, Group A leaders Insurance hosted the Matchday 15 encounter at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin under an intermittent heavy downpour.
The first half of the match ended in a stalemate, but the hosts found their feet early in the second half, scoring two goals within a space of five minutes.
It was Ismael Sarki that broke the deadlock in the 55th minute when he nodded a cross from Enabulele Efe into El-Kanemi’s net.
Just four minutes after, Austin Ogunye extended the lead that earned the Benin side double victory over the Maiduguri side, which lost 0-1 at home to Insurance early in the league.
Ugochukwu Ujah, however, found a consolation goal for the visitors after 68 minutes; a goal he converted from the spot.
With the victory, Insurance maintain their lead on the Group A table of the abridged league with 31 points from 15 matches and compounded the woes of the relegation-bound away team with nine points from the same number of fixtures.
Reacting to the defeat, Coach Muniru AbdulAziz of El-Kanemi regretted that the game did not go as he planned.
He noted that the hosts approached the match with a mind of seeking revenge, but the Warriors were only just unlucky considering their qualities in the match.
