Abuja based Mahanaim FC kicked-off year 2025 with a victory over Greenlock FC on Saturday, at the Bwari Township Stadium.
Goals from Aliyu Imran and Nambou Roman were enough to secure victory for Mahanaim FC in the first match of the year.
Mahanaim FC In Charge From The Start
Both teams hadn’t met since 2023 when Mahanaim cruised to a 2-nil win over them. That result set the tone for the match on Saturday, with Green Lock hoping to get a win this time.
Coaches, Saheed Jimoh and Jackson Mbuk set up a team which had a blend of young players and the experienced ones, including Haruna Abdullahi, who also got a goal the last time out against GreenLock.
After the opening exchanges in first few minutes, Haruna bursted through the middle into the opponent’s 18-yards, Dribbling his way past three players before setting up Aliyu Imran who finished the move with a goal from close range.
The game became very close from that point onwards with only the goal separating the teams.
After the break, the match became more open as Mahanaim pushed forward searching for the second goal.
GreenLock Fightback Thwarted
GreenLock FC came close a couple of times before finding an equaliser through a low free- kick from Samuel Daniel, that went past Goal-Keeper, David Adolphus.
Barely two minutes after the equalizer, Haruna Abdullahi once again conjured a magical pass that found Nambou Roman who had replaced Aliyu Imran in the attack.
Roman’s well timed run was complemented by Haruna’s defence splitting pass before lobbing the ball over the on-rushing goalkeeper into the net, to restore Mahanaim’s lead.
GreenLock FC fought fiercely to find an equalizer but Mahanaim’s defence featuring Nura Yahaya, Jesse Mokele, Salisu Hamisu and Marcus Haruna stood firm with the help of the midfielders, Daniel Egwuatu and Ikoh Danjuma, as Mahanaim gained another victory over GreenLock FC in the first match of 2025.
