Abia Warriors Relegate Sharks To NNL

Abia Warriors FC literally relegated visiting Sharks FC of Port Harcourt with a hard fought 1-0 victory at the Umuahia Township Stadium on Sunday.

Sharks needed at least a point to have any chance of surviving relegation and they fought gallantly but Michael Olaha drove the final nail in Shark’s relegation coffin, breaking their resolve with an 83rd minute goal to sink them into the Nigerian National League.

Enterprising Bolaji Sakin earned the hosts a penalty in the 61st minute but Ayodele Henry in goal for Sharks pulled off a magnificent save belying his hefty bulk from Michael Ibe Okoro’s penalty, as he stretched out his left hand to push the ball over the bar.

Sharks were very enterprising and had come close to breaking the deadlock earlier on, with Christian Pyagbara and Chiamaka Madu troubling the hosts defense ably marshaled by Ike ThankGod but they failed to find the cutting edge until Olaha’s goal took the wind from their sail.

With the result, Abia Warriors ended the season with 53 points, while their visitors ended with 45 points to place 17th on the final table and be relegated to the National. League.