Newman's brace powers MFM FC to winning track

Sikiru Olatunbosun's cool finish and a  brace from Newman Musa gave  Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries Football Club of Lagos their first win in eight matches as they outclassed Lobi Stars Football Club of Makurdi with a 3-1 victory in match day 35 of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) played at the Agege Township Stadium on Sunday morning.

The first 45 minutes of the encounter saw the Lagos-based team showing its  superiority with magnificent passing  skills and good movement on and of the ball as they created three chances under 15 minutes of play.

Olatunbosun had a chance to put the hosts in front in the 7th minute of the game when he raced on to a lovely pass from Chukwuka Onuwa but his effort went inches wide.

MFM FC had another chance to register the opener three minutes after Olatunbosun's attempt went off target through defender Stanley Okorom who failed to make his shot count for the homers.

The duo of Joseph Nathaniel and Anthony Agbaji of Lobi Stars FC were booked for a bad challenge on Onuwa and Olatunbosun respectively in the 16th and 19th minute of the match.

The opening goal came when Onuwa initiated a superb move from the middle of the park in the 21st minute of the game when he picked out striker, Stephen Odey with a fine pass. The teenager dribbled past his maker and put the ball into Olatunbosun's feet who fired home from inside the visitors box.

The Makurdi-based team only chance of the first half  came five minutes after the opener when Kingsley Eduwo played himself into a good scoring position but he opted for a pass instead of testing MFM FC's goalkeeper, Folarin Abayomi. The first half ended with the home side claiming a 1-goal lead.

A Man-of-the-match performance from Newman in the second half was more than enough for the Olukoya Boys to put the Benue Army to the sword.

Newman doubled the hosts lead after six minutes of play in the second half when he capitalised on a defensive mix up by Lobi Stars defenders and finished the ball calmly.

Fidelis Ilechukwu's men continued with their  brilliant display and mounted more pressure on the visitors and dominated the game for seven minutes. Musa completed his brace when he latched on to an intelligent delivery from Okorom.

The visitors pulled a goal back in the 61st through Barnabas Imenger's well-struck effort. The goal brought some spark into the match but MFM FC resisted Godwin Uwa's men's effort from causing any damage by cooling off the pressure to secure the needed three points.

The win has taken MFM FC to the 15th position on the NPFL table with 41 points from 33 league matches.