Abia Warriors claimed a hard-fought 1–0 away victory over Plateau United at the Jos Stadium on Sunday, courtesy of a second-half strike from Taheer Abubakar, Nigeriasoccetnet.com reports.
In a tightly contested encounter dominated by midfield battles and defensive organisation, the Umuahia-based side showed greater composure in decisive moments to secure all three points on the road.
The hosts began brightly, with Kazeem driving forward early on to find Vincent, whose low strike forced an early save from the Abia Warriors goalkeeper inside two minutes.
Plateau United continued to apply pressure, with Vincent testing his luck from distance in the 10th minute, only to see his effort sail over the bar.
A penalty appeal from the Peace Boys was waved away in the 31st minute after Gideon went down in the box following a promising dribble.
The best chance of the half fell to Nenrot in the 35th minute, but his effort went agonisingly wide after being picked out from a long throw-in.
Both sides went into the break scoreless, with Plateau United enjoying territorial advantage but lacking a clinical edge.
The tempo remained high after the restart as Plateau United continued to press.
Goalkeeper Bala of Plateau United was called into action after tipping a dangerous ball over the bar in the 50th minute to keep the contest level.
Abia Warriors gradually grew into the game, tightening defensively and looking to exploit spaces on the counterattack. Their persistence paid off in the 68th minute when Taheer Abubakar broke the deadlock.
Receiving the ball in space, Abubakar beat his marker and calmly chipped the goalkeeper to silence the home crowd and give Abia Warriors a crucial lead.
Plateau United threw numbers forward in the closing stages in search of an equaliser. Abia Warriors were forced into last-ditch defending, with Emmanuel Ogbuagu making a vital clearance in stoppage time.
Drama followed moments later when Plateau United’s header struck the crossbar in the 90+5th minute, coming inches away from denying the hosts an equalizer.
Abia Warriors held firm through intense late pressure to secure a valuable away win that takes them second on the log while Plateau United move further down to 19th on the log.
Uche Dozie