Chijioke Mbaoma notched a hat trick yesterday morning to take Enyimba International to the top of the NPFL-Dozy Mmobuosi Foundation pre-season tournament in a 4-3 win against Bendel Insurance.
On MatchDay 2 of the tournament, ten-man Shooting Stars fought spiritedly to hold Rangers to 1-1 draw and stay second behind Enyimba. The result means Enyimba are guaranteed a place in the finals irrespective of the outcome of the remaining games.
Nwobodo gave Rangers the lead after 56 minutes but Samuel Ayorinde brought Shooting level and was picked as the man of the match
Enyimba and Insurance had a fireworks filled first half that produced five goals with Insurance leading 3-2 to the dressing room.
Mbaoma scored the first of his three goals eight minutes into the match but Insurance levelled up through Divine Nwachukwu on 30 minutes. Micah Odojumo put the Edo Arsenal up five minutes later but Mbaoma equalised after three minutes only for Sodje Stevens to hit a possible goal of the tournament a minute after.
The second half saw Chisom Okereke bringing Enyimba back few minutes after the restart while Mbaoma completed his hat trick.
The former Heartland player, who was voted Most Valuable Player (MVP) said after the match that his goals is a sign of what he’s bringing on the field to Enyimba.
“I joined Enyimba to score goals and it has only started from this tournament which I have the confidence we will win”, Mbaoma told the media.
In the last group matches of the tournament which returns to Mobalaji Stadium, Lagos from the Remo Stars stadium in Ikenne, Rangers will face Bendel Insurance while Enyimba play Shooting Stars.
The top two teams will play the final tomorrow to determine the overall winner
The tournament has a ₦100m prize package.
