El-Kanemi Warriors 2-0 defeat of Warri Wolves on Saturday evening made it five wins from five games on their Maiduguri turf since returning to their traditional home ground on Match Day 11.
The stadium has since then seen all comers downed by the Warriors of Borno who began with a win against Shooting Stars and followed up with other wins against Ikorodu United, Kano Pillars and Rangers International. It is also remarkable because they are yet to concede in all of the five games, given goalkeeper, George Michael bragging rights of keeping five clean sheets
Back-to-back wins against Rangers in a rescheduled Match Day 18 fixture and that against Warri Wolves meant the club sailed out of the relegation bracket and safely placed on 12th place with 25 points from 19 matches. They are now five points adrift of the drop zone and not even a win for any of the four teams within the zone can affect the Warriors..
The win against Wolves looks like the easiest for the hosts who dominated possession from the blast of the whistle. Ibrahim Mustapha, Chinedu Ohanachom and Hassaini Bata attacked the rear guard of the Warri team with intent of early goal.
Ohanachom made the first attempt after running past Kelvin Njoku and forcing goalkeeper Tega into an early save. Bata and Ibrahim Mustapha also fired from flanks but Tega was always on his toes. Ibrahim Mustapha and Ohanachom's penalty claims only raised shouts at the stands though Chinedu got the caution for simulations.
El-Kanemi would open scoring when Ohanachom dazzled past Wolves back line and his intercepted left footed shot was met by onrushing Bata who fired low to put his team in front on 31 minutes. Suleiman Dorri almost increased the tally with a bullet unleashed from range, but Tega was not to be beaten this time.
The Seasiders had little to show in the first stanza as their best effort was to clear the lines for safety. After the break the heat continued as the Warriors piled more pressure on the visitors. Umar Zango's long range throw was a suitable advantage but Mustapha, Dorri and Hele Hele headed wide severally. Coach Ladan Bosso introduced Mathias Samuel for Auta Yakubu and the change yielded positively. Samuel fired in from 30 yards with virtually his first kick of the game to make it 2-0 and they held on until the blast of the final whistle.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Hussaini Bata (El-Kanemi Warriors)