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After the first stanza of the abridged 2022/23 Nigeria Professional Football League which has seen teams play nine games each, except in the case of Rivers United who have outstanding games against Bayelsa United (today), Enugu Rangers and Abia Warriors, as well as El-Kanemi Warriors and Kwara United who face off on Wednesday (today) in Maiduguri, the NPFL table shows how the teams have performed.
However, a deeper look into the performance of individual players for their various teams will further explain why the teams are where they are on the log.
ABIODUN ADEWALE takes a look at the top performers so far this season as well as those who have been below par
HOT
Imade, Sarki, Obasogie (Bendel Insurance)
Newcomers Bendel Insurance aren’t top of the table in Group A because other teams haven’t come to the party. They are simply there because of the involvement of their strikers, Osarenkhoe Imade and Ismael Sarki as well as their goalkeeper Amas Obasogie.
Imade and Sarki have been in the spotlight from match-day one as the striking partners have scored in the same game on four occasions to help Bendel Insurance secure wins against Akwa United, Plateau United, Remo Stars and Shooting Stars. Bendel Insurance have won on three of the occasions in which both players scored, while they also drew one.
In the process, both players have ten goals between them, six of them for Imade while Sarki has four. Bendel Insurance has scored thirteen goals this season, so, both players have contributed seventy percent of the goals for the Benin Arsenal so far this season.
While Imade and Sarki are banging the goals, Obasogie has been diligent between the sticks, making saves and keeping seven clean sheets in nine games.
While Imade won the League Bloggers January Player of the Month Award, Sarki and Amas were also nominated.
The Benin Arsenal holds a seven-point gap on top of the table with 23 points.
Emeka Obioma (Enyimba)
Leading the line for eight-time champions who need to rediscover themselves is no mean feat and Obioma is living up to the expectations for Enyimba.
The striker has scored seven goals already to lead the scorers chart while he has also equalled his number from the previous season.
Unlike other contenders in the golden boot race, Obioma began to score on match-day four, bagging a brace against Kwara United and has followed it up with two other braces against El-Kanemi Warriors and Shooting Stars as well as one other goal against Gombe United to take his tally to seven.
Joseph Atule (Lobi Stars)
Lobi Stars forward, Joseph Atule has been a consistent provider and scorer for the Makurdi side this season.
Majorly operating from the flanks and sometimes through the middle, Atule has scored four goals and also has four assists to his name, helping Lobi stay in strong contention for a top-three finish in group B with 19 points.
Lobi has scored 12 goals in nine games, meaning that Atule has contributed to eight of them.
Emmanuel Ifeanyi (Plateau United)
Jos side, Plateau United are the highest scoring side so far in the league with 17 goals. While the names of scorers have been distributed, an unlikely source, Emmanuel Ifeanyi, has however scored four times for the Fidelis Ilechukwu led team.
Emmanuel Ifeanyi blazed the trail for Plateau in January and won the club’s player of the month award for the month while he was also nominated in the league.
Robert Mizo (Bayelsa United)
After seven years in the Nigeria National League (NNL), Bayelsa United returned to the NPFL with a fading status and relatively unknown players.
However, one of their players, Robert Mizo, has come to the party so far this season with four goals.
Mizo scored eight for the Restoration Boy in the NNL last season and he will be crucial to their survival this season.
WHO’S NOT
Bamidele, Okechukwu (3SC)
After nine games, 3SC are yet to find their feet in the NPFL and it is largely due to inconsistency in different areas of the game, especially the goalkeeping department.
Having scored 12 goals, the Oluyole Warriors have conceded 13 goals with Bamidele Adeniyi shipping in nine of them in five games while Udoh Okechukwu let in four goals in four games.
Even after leaving much to be desired against Bendel Insurance in Ibadan on match-day seven, Okechukwu has managed two clean sheets while Bamidele has only kept one.
The Gbenga Ogunbote led side are 7th in Group A with 10 points from nine games.
Adeyinka Adewale (Kwara United)
Another goalkeeper under scrutiny for inconsistency is Adeyinka Adewale who joined Kwara United from Akwa United, apparently to build with the team in their failed CAF Confederation Cup bid.
Adeyinka has not had a smooth stay in his new team this season, as they are rooted 9th in Group A with 6 points from eight games.
While the team isn’t scoring much, the goalkeeper has also conceded eight goals in the process. The only game he didn’t feature is against Enyimba.
Godwin Obaje (Enugu Rangers)
Just like Enyimba, seven-time champions Enugu Rangers are also looking to redeem their image under coach Abdul Maikaba in the new season.
But their pace has been slow, no thanks to the inability of their frontline to create or deliver more goals.
While they have conceded four, Enugu Rangers have only scored six goals this season, bringing to question the presence of Godwin Obaje, who is notable for goals, in the team.
He has been featured twice and has one goal. Perhaps, more games will see him score more.
Osanga, Ohanachom (Nasarawa United)
Nasarawa United has struggled for consistency this season. The Solid Miners have been beaten six times this season, the most by any side, scoring eight goals and conceding 13.
In the absence of their top scorer from last season, Michael Tochukwu, who has joined Plateau United, former junior international King Osanga and Chinedu Ohanachom are the highest scorers for the team with two goals each. Perhaps they are both affected by the team’s struggles, but Nasarawa United’s chances of moving up in the league will depend on how many goals they score and concede.
Michael Tochukwu (Plateau United)
With 11 goals for Nasarawa United last season, Tochukwu is yet to pull his weight at his new club, Plateau United this season.
The striker has only made four appearances for the Jos side and his only goal this season came from the spot in their 5-0 rout of El-Kanemi Warriors.
Maybe he will get more time, but he is currently not as hot as he was last season.