Enugu Rangers Football Club broke a 32 year jinx to win the Nigerian Premier league in style hammering El Kanemi Warrior 4-0 at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium also known as the Cathedral .
Rangers finished on 63 points 3 ahead odf second placed Rivers United.
The two teams will now represent Nigeria in next years CAF Champions league a feat Rivers United Coach Stanley Eguma describes as Magificent. Third-placed Wikki Tourists, who defeated Sunshine Stars 2-0, will feature in the CAF confederation Cup.
With three points separating them from second place, Rivers United (57 points), the Flying Antelopes wasted no time as Chisom Egbuchulam netted the opening goal in the third minute from the spot kick before Osas Okoro extended their lead to two before the break
Elsewhere Port Harcourt based Rivers United, an amalgamation of Dolphins and relegated Sharks, finished their first-ever season in the Nigerian top flight in second place with 60 points from 36 matches and will now compete in the 2017 CAF Champions League.
“It is a pity we did not win the league title, but it is quite clear that we performed much better than a lot of people thought we would,” Eguma said after his team won 2-1 at Akwa United on Sunday.
“This club came into existence just days before the season commenced and we were a lot of people’s favourites to be relegated.“We suffered a lot, but I thank God that we have been vindicated in the end.
“We however knew what we were about and stood true to our values of hard work, discipline and total trust in God.
“Today, the result is there for all to see.
“To have gone into the final day (of the season) still with a chance to win the league is no mean feat.” an elated Eguma continued
Meanwhile, Lagos club MFM FC escaped relegation with a 1-0 with over FC IfeanyiUbah in Agege effectively sending Warri Wolves who despite winning 1-0 against relegated Ikorodu .
Heartland on the other hand could as well go down if the league management awards Plateau united with the points .The Owerri based club needed three points away in Jos to be safe and looked sure to do it when Roland Koffi fired them ahead in the first half. But Bright Silas restored parity just after the interval. The game would be abandoned by the visitors with about ten minutes left on the clock and the league managers will decide what becomes of the result.
The results
Warri Wolves 1-0 Ikorodu United
Wikki Tourists 2-0 Sunshine Stars
Abia Warriors 2-1 3SC
Akwa United 1-2 Rivers United
MFM FC 1-0 FC IfeanyiUbah
Kano Pillars 1-1 Niger Tornadoes
Rangers International 4-0 El-Kanemi Warriors
Plateau United 1-1 Heartland FC ( match abandoned with ten minutes to go)
The standings
| Team | P | W | D | L | Pts | GF | GA | +/- | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
(1) |  |
Rangers International FC | 36 | 18 | 9 | 9 | 63 | 53 | 37 | 16 |
| 2 | |
(2) |  |
Rivers United FC | 36 | 19 | 3 | 14 | 60 | 38 | 29 | 9 |
| 3 |  |
(4) |  |
Wikki Tourists | 36 | 16 | 9 | 11 | 57 | 45 | 28 | 17 |
| 4 |  |
(3) |  |
FC IfeanyiUbah | 36 | 16 | 8 | 12 | 56 | 37 | 33 | 4 |
| 5 | |
(6) |  |
Lobi Stars FC | 36 | 16 | 7 | 13 | 55 | 41 | 35 | 6 |
| 6 | |
(5) |  |
Sunshine Stars | 36 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 53 | 44 | 37 | 7 |
| 7 | |
(7) |  |
Kano Pillars | 36 | 15 | 7 | 14 | 52 | 47 | 40 | 7 |
| 8 | |
(8) |  |
El-Kanemi Warriors FC | 36 | 16 | 3 | 17 | 51 | 37 | 42 | -5 |
| 9 | |
(10) |  |
Enyimba International FC | 36 | 14 | 8 | 14 | 50 | 34 | 35 | -1 |
| 10 | |
(9) |  |
Nasarawa United FC | 36 | 16 | 2 | 18 | 50 | 41 | 43 | -2 |
| 11 | |
(11) |  |
Niger Tornadoes | 36 | 15 | 4 | 17 | 49 | 40 | 42 | -2 |
| 12 | |
(12) |  |
Plateau United | 36 | 13 | 10 | 13 | 49 | 34 | 37 | -3 |
| 13 | |
(15) |  |
Abia Warriors | 36 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 48 | 35 | 39 | -4 |
| 14 | |
(13) |  |
Akwa United FC | 36 | 13 | 8 | 15 | 47 | 45 | 46 | -1 |
| 15 | |
(14) |  |
Shooting Stars | 36 | 14 | 5 | 17 | 47 | 41 | 48 | -7 |
| 16 | |
(17) |  |
MFM FC | 36 | 12 | 9 | 15 | 45 | 36 | 40 | -4 |
| 17 | |
(18) |  |
Warri Wolves FC | 36 | 12 | 9 | 15 | 45 | 29 | 38 | -9 |
| 18 | |
(16) |  |
Heartland FC | 36 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 44 | 25 | 30 | -5 |
| 19 | |
(19) |  |
Ikorodu United FC | 36 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 32 | 32 | 55 | -23 |
| 20 | |
(20) |  |
Giwa FC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
