Tag: Pillars

Champions Kano Pillars are expected to name a new coach on Thursday, officials have told AfricanFootball.com

Pillars sacked coach, Okey Emordi after a laboured campaign in the first round of the league this season which has left them nine points behind the pace of table toppers Sunshine Stars.

Former coach Mohammed Babaganaru is top target for Pillars and he has given them conditions for his return from Nasarawa United.

Former Eagles assistant coach Daniel Amokachi has also been mentioned in connection of the top Pillars post.

Pillars returned from a short break on Monday.

Their first match in the second round of the league will be at home against Lobi Stars on Sunday.

The newly appointed board chairman of Kano Pillars Football Club Alhaji Kabiru Baita has pledged to run an open door policy.

The chairman made the pledge shortly after he took over the mantle of leadership at the club secretariat in Kano.

Baita urged fans and other supporters of the club in the state and beyond to co-operate with board towards rebuilding the club.

He commended the outgoing board for the success recorded and wish them the best in their future endeavours.

He then charged staff of the club to tightening their belts for the challenges ahead, saying his board would not accept negligent to duty.

On his part the outgoing General Manager of the club Alhaji Babangida Mahmud Umar thanked Kano state government, outgoing board members, fans and entire staff of the club for their support and cooperation and urged them to extend same to his successor.

In his remark, the former chairman Kano state sports council  Sarki Aliyu Deneji who witness the handing over ceremony commended governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje for appointing  Baita as chairman of the club and urged  him to  use his experience in moving the club forward.

Kano Pillars picked up their second consecutive victory with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Gabros FC.

Pillars created the first chance of the game when Azeez Shobowale aimed to catch Fidelis Eze in goal for Gabros with an audacious effort from a cross but the goalkeeper was alert to make a smart save.

Four minutes later, Rabiu Ali delivered a delicious cross which was well met by Moses Ekpai and his header gave the champions a 1-0 lead.

Ekpai returned the favour in the 25th minute releasing Ali who finished up with a beautiful curler to put the home side two goals clear.

Gabros responded with a chance of their own five minutes to the halftime break but Onyekachi Uchechukwu shot from close range was parried to safety by Joel Afelokhai in goal for Kano Pillars.

Eight minutes after resumption for the second half Olubisi Samuel brought down Rabiu Ali in the box,the forward dusted himself up picked the ball but failed to convert the spot-kick.

That miss proved costly for the home team as Nwosu Oluchukwu reduced the deficit for the visitors with a left footed shot following a through ball from substitute Onyekachi Uchechukwu.

Ekpai wasted the best chance Kano Pillars had to kill the game off as contest but nevertheless they were able to hang on and pick all three points.

Kano Pillars bring their 2014/2015 Glo Premier League alive after securing a vital away win against Abia Warriors in the Glo Premier League week 9 clash at the Umuahia Township stadium , Abia  State yesterday.

Adamu Hassan 4th minute early goal was all Sai Masu Gida needed to claim their first away victory this season.

Hassan, who scored his session’s second goal, converted a pass he received from Kano Pillars striker Moses Ekpai to seal victory for the visitors.

The tempo of the game was high as the two sides tried to outdo one another.

Both sides came close to score on so many occasions as Abia Warriors desperate to get an equalizer and save them an embarrassment from their home fans.

As Pillars converted one out of many scoring opportunities the story is different for the home side as they were wasteful in front of goals, missing all their chances.

Heavy downpour in the 13th minute to end the game made things difficult for the home sides as they struggled throughout till the end of the match.

The center referee Paul Ogbemudia from Delta State saw no reason from postponing the match despite the heavy downpour.

Interestingly, Pillars got a draw in Umuahia last season, the moment that kick started their path unto a historic title win.

The defeat made Abia Warriors recorded its second home loss this season, the Warriors suffered its first season defeat in Match Day Four in the hands of Wikki Tourists.

A board member of  Kano Pillars Nasiru Adamu, who travelled from Port-Harcourt to Umuahia to watch the match, has promised to give all the eighteen players that made the trip one hundred dollars each for their efforts.

In a chat with  Sportinglife, Pillars media officer, Idris Malikawa said Sai Masu Gida are back in the reckoning, stressing that the team will battle for the league title again.

“We’ve started and we are back to our normal self now. Last year, we played 0-0 against Abia Warriors in Umuahia and it was the beginning of our destination for title victory. It was a week ten game last season and we won week 9 game today,” Malikawa told SportingLife.

“Let our fans continue to be patient. We are not going to disappoint them. We dedicated the victory to people of Kano for their support on the club’s situation in the past three away matches and let them continue pray for the team.

“We also commend the state government under the leadership of governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso for his financial support to the team and we have confident  that the incoming governor, Dr Umar Danguje will continue from where Kwankwaso stopped because we have the believe that he has passion of  the team in mind.”

Malikawa also praised his players’ fighting spirit during the match.

“Our players deserved to be commended, especially when they ended in a heavy rainfall situation. And we are very grateful to the way and manner the people of Umuahai fans conducted themselves during the match,” he said.

A first-half goal from Junior Ajayi was what Shooting Stars needed as they beat Kano Pillars in a rescheduled match day 3 encounter in the ongoing Nigeria Professional Football League yesterday at the Lekan Salami Stadium.

It was a tense game for the Oluyole Warriors as they wanted the three points to ease their relegation worries.

The away side stood very strong in the game as Azeez Shobowale and Rabiu Ali were effective for them.

It was an end to end battle as there was little to choose between the two sides but the Oluyole Warriors looked more deadly whenever they were in the final third.

Shooting Stars quickly stamped their authority on proceedings and after 10 minutes they went ahead.

Ajayi blazed past a helpless Yusuf Mohammed after connecting with Tope Orelope’s brilliant pass.

As the first half approached a conclusion, chances were few and far between as both sides struggled with their final ball.

In the early exchanges of the second half, Shooting Stars began the game on a high spirit searching for the second goal.

Najeem Olukokun saw his lob cleared to safety by Usman Suleiman in the 50th minute.

Shooting Stars looked very strong at the back with no margin of error.

But Abiodun Akande saved Shooting Stars after he stretched to tip away Rabiu Ali’s point blank shot.

The tempo of the game went down as the Oluyole Warriors reverted to a defensive tactic which paid off as they won the game 1-0 to lift themselves from the drop zone.

Kano will play Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC) of Ibadan in a rescheduled week 3 Glo Premier league game on May 6 at the Lekan Salami Stadium, Adamasingba Ibadan.

The game was shifted due to the Kano Pillars’ engagement in the CAF Champions League.

The Sai Masu Gida will also engage Heartland FC of Owerri in the rescheduled week 1 league game on May 29. The match was postponed following armed robbery attack on Kano Pillars along Abaji-Lokoja road on their way to Owerri to honour league match.

“The two matches are very crucial to us. We believe after the games against 3SC and Heartland FC we should be back at the top again. After our CAF Champions League exit we have shifted our attention to the league and other competitions.

“It will be a long week for us because we first honour Heartland game before moving to Ilorin to play Kwara United in week 7 league game before heading to Ibadan for 3SC match. This is our priority now because we didn’t want to end the season empty handed,” Pillars media officer, Idris Malikawa told SportingLife.