Nigeria Premier Football League returnees, Nasarawa United, blame the absence of key players for the 2-0 defeat they suffered at the hands of fellow NPFL side Lobi Stars in a pre-season friendly match played on Thursday evening at the Divine Mercy Minor Seminary, Kanshio, Makurdi.
The Solid Miners claimed they were without their regular starting lineup as coach Usman Adams opted to give opportunities to new signings, Footballrover reports.
This decision proved costly as Lobi Stars capitalised on the Miners’ inexperienced backline.
A defensive mishap led to the opening goal for Lobi Stars when Stanley Oganbo’s cross took a deflection off Nasarawa United defender Uche Odeh to find the back of the net.
Despite dominating possession for large parts of the game and creating several scoring chances, Nasarawa United were unable to convert their opportunities.
Lobi Stars’ goalkeeper, Akor Itodo, denied them scoring chances.
The introduction of substitutes in the latter stages of the game failed to change the outcome as Lobi Stars doubled their lead through Seun Oluwatoba late in the game.
Nasarawa United attributed the defeat to the absence of their key players, stating that the match was an opportunity to assess the capabilities of their new signings.
“We were without our old players as Coach Usman Adams featured new faces…to test their ability to stick to the team’s culture and tradition,” the team wrote on social media.
Both teams will square off again on Friday at the Lafia City Stadium before participating in the Abuja Unity Pre-season Tournament.
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