Enugu Rangers beat Kano Pillars 4-2 on penalties,
after a 3-3 draw at full time in the final of the 2018 Aiteo Cup played on
Wednesday, October 24.
The game played at the 25,000 capacity Stephen Keshi
Stadium in Asaba, Delta state started at a high tempo with Kano Pillars taking
the lead as early as the fifth minute when veteran Rabiu Ali fired in a ball
through pass from Nwagua into the net.
Rangers goalkeeper Femi
Thomas pushed in an own goal from Ibrahim Alassan’s corner kick in
the 20th minute for Kano Pillars second goal.
The first half ended 2-0 in favor of Kano Pillars as
Rangers went into the halftime break with a mountain to climb.
Two goals became three at the start of the second
half as Nyima Nwagua scored the third for Kano Pillars just after resumption.
Kelvin Itoya gave Rangers some hope when he scored
screamer in the 77th minute. Chidera Ezeh gave the Flying Antelopes a lifeline
when he scored the second goal for Rangers in the 82nd minute.
Ajani Ibrahim produced an unbelievable effort to
level the scores and send the game to penalties after additional time.
The game went to penalties and Enugu Rangers
completed a comeback to win the penalty shootout 4-2 after Rabiu Ali failed to
score the first spot kick.
