Nov 28, 2024 - 18:31
By guardian.ng

Safety Babes, Niger United excel as Kano Pillars, Kings lose

Leaders of the Ardova Premier Handball League, Safety Babes, opened their campaign in the second phase of the championship with a 36 to 27 victory over Rivers Queens at the indoor sports hall of the National Stadium, Lagos.

In another game of the day, the De Defenders Babes lost to Rima Queens 36-34 in a keenly contested game. There was little to separate the two teams as they battled all through the game, which Rima Queens won by a two-goal difference.

Also in the game of sisters, Delta Queens beat Bendel Dynamos 34 -18. The Queens’ class showed in a game that the Dynamos were not close to their best. The Queens took advantage of the porous defence and uncoordinated play of the Benin team to record the win.

In the men’s category, defending champions, Sunshine Kings lost 22-34 to Niger United. The champions finished third after the first phase in Benin, Edo State. However, they were at their fluid best against the Kings from Akure.

Kano Pillars’ woes continued at the second phase yesterday with the former champions losing to Lagos Seasiders 19-17. Pillars’ coach, Solomon Yola, attributed the loss to fatigue, saying that they could have still won the game if his players took the several scoring chances that came their way.
He said: “I can’t blame the players for the defeat. We were fatigued. We came in by 8.00 p.m. on Tuesday from Kano, by road, and we did not get enough rest before our 8.00 a.m. game on Wednesday.

“We had our chances in the game, which we missed but it all went down to fatigue. Hopefully, we can get enough rest before our next games,” the coach added.