Akwa Utd overcome Wikki to go sixth
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Musa Newman and Christian Pyagbara got the goals for the Promise Keepers to claim their 10th win of the season.
Alhassan Ibrahim returned to the Akwa United matchday squad after his time with the Nigerian national team after missing the last two league games.
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Wikki Tourists head coach Bala Nikyu for the second matchday in a row opted for Sani Haliru between the sticks ahead of Emeka Nwabulu, who has been the club's first-choice goalkeeper until recent matches.
Both teams played expressive football from the off and
within two minutes Akwa United winger Ubong Friday could not get on the end of a long pass.
Four minutes after the start Ismael Bagayan had a fairly decent chance to score but dragged his shot off target from close range.
Alhassan then missed one of the best chances in the opening 10 minutes when failed to put the ball in the net from an unmarked position after good work by Friday.
On 19 minutes, Wikki's Richard Jonathan could not turn in the ball after Akwa United goalkeeper Olorunleke Ojo was displaced.
Six minutes later, the Promise Keepers got their noses in front through Newman after good exchanges between Alhassan and Friday.
After the goal, Akwa United controlled things but could not turn their huge share of possession of the ball into a goal before the break.
Newman almost made it 2-0 to Akwa United two minutes into the restart but his attempt kept rising after a delightful chest-control to set himself up.
The game continued with its end-to-end display until two minutes into stoppage time in the second half when Pyagbara produced a piece of individual brilliance to put the game beyond Wikki after he had come on for Newman 18 minutes earlier.
The win takes Akwa United's total points for the season so far to 36 after 23 matches.
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