Sunshine Stars defeated Doma United 1-0 in their rescheduled Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) Matchday 36 clash, tentatively sealing the Savannah Tigers’ relegation fate.
Doma needed a victory at the Pantami Stadium to maintain their hopes of avoiding relegation ahead of the last Matchday of the 2023/24 NPFL season, but they didn’t recover from Ibrahim Yusuf’s 37th-minute strike.
Yusuf pounced on a rebound within the box to give Sunshine the lead, and the lean lead was enough to secure the Akure Gunners’ back-to-back victory over Doma.
The loss takes Doma’s form sheet to two victories in their last 18 games, and would now need to win by a margin of 17 goals in their last game against Abia Warriors, whilst hoping Akwa United and Sporting Lagos both lose their respective games, if they’re ever going to avoid dropping.
Meanwhile, Sporting Lagos who have also been on the brink of relegation for weeks now, may be the biggest beneficiaries of Doma’s loss as they head into the final game of their debut NPFL season.
With a negative four goal difference, the Noisy Lagosians who have so far gathered 46 points need to only avoid a defeat when they face Shooting Stars in the season’s final South West derby on Sunday at the Lekan Salami Stadium in Ibadan.
With a -16 goal difference and 43 points, Doma’s status as the third relegated team this season—and the second from Gombe—is all but sealed, following the relegation confirmation of Heartland FC and Gombe United.
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