We continued our dominance over Shooting Stars Sport Club (3SC) of Ibadan with a 1–0 victory in the Matchday 23 fixture of the Nigeria Premier Football League at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Lagos.

In a Southwest derby that meant a lot to us, following the return of our former gaffer Nurudeen Aweroro and his assistant Ali Kandal — our boys got off to a flying start.

LINE-UP: Michael Atata; Junior Christian, Emmanuel Mathias, Gift Udoh, Elijah Ujunwa; Kelechi Onwe, Tosin Oyedokun, Rasheed Owolabi, Joseph Arumala, Abayomi Ayodeji & James Jonah.

Captain Tosin Oyedokun set the tone in the 2nd minute, winning the ball in midfield before surging forward and unleashing a powerful strike that was parried by Shooting Stars goalkeeper Mustapha Lawal. The rebound was rifled into the roof of the net by Joseph Arumala to give us an early lead, his sixth goal of the season to send our supporters into wild celebrations.

Oga Boys dictated the tempo of the game and came close to doubling the advantage in the 12th minute, as former 3SC man James Jonah whipped in a fine cross for Arumala, whose powerful effort went straight into the hands of the goalkeeper.

The visitors threatened to draw level in the 35th minute from a dangerous set piece outside the box, but Michael Atata produced a fine save to preserve our lead.

Heading into the break, we continued to dominate proceedings, with James Jonah once again pulling the strings. He arrived late into the box for a tap-in opportunity from Arumala, as the first half ended firmly in our favour.

The second half began with an early change, as midfielder Kelechi Onwe was forced off through injury and replaced by Dagogo Ibufubara. Ten minutes later, a double substitution was made to inject fresh energy into the attack, with Chidera Oparaocha and Ibrahim Ayoola introduced.

Chidera almost made an instant impact, creating a clear chance for an unmarked Dagogo, who beat his marker on the right flank and fired wide.

In the 80th minute, our skipper Tosin was withdrawn as a precaution, with Bada Moses coming on. We came agonisingly close to doubling the win late on, as Chidera found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but his effort was saved.

At full time, Oga Boys secured all three points, extending our unbeaten run against our Southwest rivals in the top flight.

UP NEXT
Following the victory over Shooting Stars, our team will travel up north to face Barau FC at the Sani Abacha Stadium, Kano State, on Monday, 2nd February 2026.

SUBSTITUTES

OUT: Kelechi Onwe IN: Ibifubara Dagogo 46’

OUT: Abayomi Ayodeji IN: Chidera Oparaocha 56’

OUT: James Jonah IN: Ibrahim Ayoola 56’

OUT: Ujunwa Elijah IN: King Light 64’

OUT: TOSIN Oyedokun IN: Bada Moses 80’

BOOKINGS

Gift Udoh 12’

Michael Atata 36’

Kelechi Onwe 36’

James Jonah 48’