When the goalkeeper turns out to be your best player in a match, it tells the story of a gallant win or a deserved loss.
In this case, it was a deserved two-nil loss Niger Tornadoes suffered because their forward play was bereft of ideas.
That it took them 87 minutes to get their only shot on target underscored the fact they spent more time battling to contain constant barrage of attacks by FC Ifeanyiubah than initiate meaninful responses.
Yet their keeper, Mustapha Aliko had stood between FC Ifeanyiubah and goals until he was beaten by Tamen Medrano and Nico Dao.
From a corner kick, Cameroonian Medrano fired in a shot from just inside the box in the 61st minute to great cheer and relief in the packed stadium.
Dao, who had been wasteful for much of the match and was proving anything but the big man upfront until he jabbed the ball in a manner similar to Medrano's effort to seal a much needed win for his ambitious side.
That goal came after Aliko had pulled off his best of the match, an acrobatic tip over the bar of a close range volley by Medrano.
He had in the first half pushed clear a curling free kick and a rasping short, both by Nwosu Oluchukwu.
Tornadoes busied themselves preventing goals rather than making them. They did not look like scoring despite almost 30 minutes separating both FC Ifeanyiubah goals.
Between the two goals, the home team played with controlled agression in their match management strategy.
When the second goal arrived, it was a case of about time rather than why.
STATS FC Ifeanyiubah 2-0 Niger Tornadoes SHOTS ON: 8-1 SHOTS OFF: 10-3 CORNERS: 6-4 FOULS: 8-11 YELLOW CARD: 0-1 RED CARD: 0-0