Sunshine Stars of Akure’s hopes of securing a continental spot and possibly winning the NPFL title this season has completely wiped off after a humiliating 3-0 defeat to the Enyimba Football Club of Aba on Friday.
The Ondo state outfit who went into the penultimate match of the Super Six competition knowing that nothing but a win could bolster their hopes of landing in the top half of the competition were outclassed by the People’s Elephant at the Onikan stadium in Lagos.
The match had barely commenced when Enyimba’s striker, Chijoke Mbaoma hit a quick fire brace in the 3rd and 8th minutes to hand his team an healthy 2-0 lead. The scoreline remained the same as the teams went in for the half-time break.
In the 66th minute of the second half, Ikenna Cooper landed the knockout punch on Sunshine Stars’ jaw as he scored a goal to hand Enyimba a 3-0 lead in the match.
Despite all attempts made by the Akure outfit to get back into the match, it was too late as the Aba side kept their cool to see out the match with a 3-0 scoreline which moves them closer to winning the NPFL title this season.
As it stands, Enyimba will go into their final match against Rivers United knowing that a win will land them the NPFL title. A draw might even be enough for them if Remo Stars fail to record a huge win against Bendel Insurance.
For Sunshine Stars, any hope of playing continental football next season has evaporated as they can no longer get into third position on the log even if they record a huge win against Lobi Stars of Markurdi in their final match.
