Rangers International Football Club of Enugu on Saturday defeated visiting Lobi Stars FC of Makurdi 5-3 in a Nigeria Professional Football League, NPFL, matchday 19 fixture.
In the match played at Rangers FC’s newly-adopted home at Awka in Anambra, Ossy Martins opened the scoring for Rangers from the penalty kick spot in the 11th minute.
Martins scored two more goals in the 22nd and 45th minutes to complete his hat-trick to ensure Rangers went into the break with a 3-0 lead.
Two minutes into the second half, Rangers made it 4-0 through Chidiebere Nwobodo.
Meanwhile, Raphael Ayogwa reduced the tally for Lobi Stars in the 57th minute and Mohammed Rabiu made it 4-2 for the visitors soon after.
Kelechukwu Agu increased the tally to 5-2 for the home team before Douglas Achiv reduced the scoreline to 5-3.
Speaking after the match, Rangers’ Chief Coach, Abdul Maikaba, said their victory was not a surprise as he had expected a win and the scoreline.
But he expressed disappointment that his team conceded three goals in the match.
“Actually, I expected the scoreline but did not expect my team to let in three goals in the match.
“All the same, we will go back to the drawing board and work on some areas we faulted in this game to avoid conceding unnecessary goals.
“Now that we are trying to be more offensive, we have to do that with good balance of good defence and midfield.
“I am happy that we scored five goals in the league for the first time, but I am worried about the goals we conceded. I know it will be difficult to strike a balance,” Maikaba said.
Rangers FC retained the third position on the league table with 34 points.
The result put Lobi Stars FC in the 19th position with 19 points.
Results: Played on Saturday:
Dakkada FC 2-1 Niger Tornadoes
Heartland FC 0-0 MFM FC
Abia Warriors 2-2 Katsina United
Rangers International 5-3 Lobi Stars
The NPFL matches continue on Sunday. Below are the Fixtures for the Day
Rivers United vs Akwa United
Remo Stars vs Kwara United
Plateau United vs Sunshine Stars
Wikki Tourists vs Enyimba International
Kano Pillars vs Gombe United
Shooting Stars vs Nasarawa United