Remo Stars Football Club secured a thrilling 5–3 victory over Best Talent Football Club at the Remo Stars Stadium, Ikenne, in a pulsating encounter that produced eight goals.
Best Talent FC staged a remarkable second-half comeback through a superb hat-trick from Usman Musa, but the Sky Blues held their nerve and added two late goals to claim victory.
Kunle Soname’s side started the game on the front foot and were rewarded with the opening goal after 20 minutes, taking advantage of an opening in the Best Talent defence to establish a 1–0 lead. The hosts doubled their advantage six minutes later when they found the net again in the 26th minute, leaving Best Talent with a difficult task heading into the break.
The Mowe giants tried to respond, with Usman Musa, Oluwayinka Oreoluwa and Asaolu Joshua involved in their attacking movements, but the former NPFL Champions maintained control. With no further goals before the interval, the first half ended:
Remo Stars 2–0 Best Talent FC.
Coach Farouk Yusuf of Best Talent responded to his side’s difficult first-half situation with an early tactical adjustment.
Joseph Emmanuel and goalkeeper Joel Jarious were withdrawn, while Olaniyan Ezekiel and Fadeyi Joshua were introduced before half-time as Best Talent looked to change the momentum of the contest. The changes brought renewed energy to the Mowe outfits, but Remo Stars extended their advantage in the 56th minute, making it 3–0.
With three goals down, the Adeyinka Adeyemo’s boys refused to surrender as the comeback began in the 63rd minute when Usman Musa pulled one goal back, giving Best Talent renewed belief.
Musa struck again in the 70th minute, reducing the deficit to 3–2 and putting Remo Stars under considerable pressure.
The integrity side made another double substitution as Sodiq and Smart were introduced, with Ahmad Mohammad Cisse and Oluwayinka Oreoluwa making way.
The attacking changes paid dividends as Musa completed his hat-trick in 90+2 minutes, bringing Best Talent level at 3–3 and completing a remarkable individual comeback.
Just when Best Talent appeared to have completed an extraordinary recovery, the Sky Blues responded with two late goals. The hosts restored their lead in the 95th minute before adding another in the 97th minute to make the final score 5–3.
The late double effectively ended Best Talent’s hopes of completing the comeback and handed Remo Stars a hard-fought victory.
Speaking, Best Talent FC Coach, Farouk Yusuf praised his boys for the remarkable come back but attributed the loss to a momentary loss of concentration. “Big kudos to these boys for standing toe to toe with Removal Stars. They deserve every commendation for coming from 3-0 down to level with the former NPFL Champions in their own ground. If not a loss of concentration and the desire to probably snatch a victory caused us the defeat but sincerely, they did well”. Former Coca-Cola youth team submitted
Best Talent FC Starting XI
Joel Jarious (GK); Otene Miracle, Ajibade Azeez, Ogedengbe Mathew-C, Teekina Michael; Joseph Emmanuel, Ahmad Mohammad Cisse, Johnson Pius; Asaolu Joshua, Oluwayinka Oreoluwa, Usman Musa.
Coach: Farouk Yusuf
Best Talent FC Substitutions
Joseph Emmanuel → Olaniyan Ezekiel
Joel Jarious → Fadeyi Joshua
Ahmad Mohammad Cisse → Sodiq
Oluwayinka Oreoluwa → Smart
*Credit: Sunday Agunbiade (Mr VAR)*
