Shooting Stars 2-1 Gombe United: Malomo Taofeek leads Oluyole Warriors to comeback victory

A brace from skipper Malomo Taofeek was enough to sink resilient Gombe United as the Oluyole Warriors had to fight back from a goal down at the Lekan Salami Stadium in the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) matchday three encounter.

How it happened

The Oluyole Warriors went all out right from kickoff and had two early chances wasted in the second minute as Alex Aghahowa shot high from the edge of the box while Ayobami Adekunle‘s solo run into the box was thwarted for a corner kick. Joshua Akpan also had a goal-bound effort blocked in the seventh minute.

However, it was Gombe United that took the lead against the run of play in the tenth minute after Bala Aliko poked home a tame cross into the box, catching Darlington Ovuda off guard in goal.

Undeterred by the visitor’s goal, 3SC continued to go all out and were all over the Savannah Scorpions but just could not get the ball past the goalkeeper in goal, with chances from Oke Kayode, Olawale Mutiu, and Malomo Taofeek gone begging to end the first half.

Coach Gbenga Ogunbote, in an attempt to get the needed breakthrough, made three changes just before the second half kicked off. The trio of Douglas Archiv, Taye Muritala, and Mumuni Abdulkareem replaced Ghali Falke, Ayobami Adekunle, and Joshua Akpan.

The much-needed equalizer finally came through for 3SC just four minutes after the restart through skipper Malomo Taofeek, who received the ball from Abdulkareem Mumuni and curled a one-time effort past the Gombe United goalkeeper to restore parity for the Ibadan-based side.

It then became a one-sided affair as 3SC kept dictating play and asking all the questions, searching for a winner.

They got rewarded for their resilience late in the game when skipper Malomo Taofeek scored his second of the day, securing a vital three points for the Gbenga Ogunbote-tutored side.

Statistics

FULL-TIME STATISTICS

Shooting Stars 2-1 Gombe United

A brace from skipper, Malomo Taofeek was enough to sink resilient Gombe United as the Oluyole Warriors were made to fight back from a goal down at the Lekan Salami Stadium.#NPFLWithMIAS #NPFL24 pic.twitter.com/2CGg8ILHdt

— Made In Africa Sport (@madeinafricaweb) October 15, 2023

Man of the Match

Malomo Taofeek

What’s Next

Shooting Stars will be making a trip to Uyo as they will be away to Akwa United for the matchday four NPFL fixture next week.