By Kanu Samuel
Sunshine Stars Football Club were on Saturday held to a goalless draw by 10-man Inter Lagos in their Nigeria National League (NNL) Matchday 16 encounter at the Ondo State Sports Complex in Akure.
Both sides failed to find the back of the net in the first half of a high-intensity contest.
The tempo remained high after the break, with Sunshine Stars pushing forward in search of a goal, but their efforts proved fruitless.
Inter Lagos were reduced to 10 men in the 55th minute after one of their players was sent off for a second bookable offence.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, Inter Lagos stood firm, denying Sunshine Stars despite several clear scoring opportunities created by the hosts.
Sunshine Stars head coach, Duke Udi, commended his players for their commitment, noting the difficulty of playing two competitive matches within a short period.
“We played a league game on Wednesday while our opponents were resting. Football is about the body if you have played before, you will understand what I’m saying. I knew it was going to be a difficult game, but I did not expect it to end in a draw.
“I told my players it is not easy to face a team at the top of the group. I reminded them that if you want to be champions, you must beat champions.
“They came with a game plan to sit back and counter us, but I am not happy because we wasted many scoring chances.
“Qualification for the Premiership is gone. All we need now is to play the remaining two matches, see what comes of them and begin preparations for next season.”
Inter Lagos head coach, Shakiru Giwa, admitted that the match was one of his side’s poorest performances of the campaign.
“We did not play to expectations. Forget the fact that we drew with one man down we performed below our standards.”
The result leaves Sunshine Stars in fifth position with 19 points from 14 matches.
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