The Kano Pillars male handball club on Thursday won their first match of the 2021 Prudent Energy Handball Premier League by beating Confluence Stars of Lokoja 29-26.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that in the match at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja saw Kano Pillars defeating their opponents in both halfs of the game.
Kano Pillars led 15-14 in the first half and, while Confluence Stars looked better in the second half, they steadfastly held on in the second half to widen their lead.
Speaking after the match, the Head Coach of Kano Pillars, Solomon Yola, told NAN that he expected a win from the match.
“It was a good match, and the first match is always a strong one. We faced a good team in Confluence Stars, as they are a good technical team. But they just need to play as a team.
“My players performed as a team of Kano Pillars standards, and we thank God that at least we won the game,” he said.
On his part, the Head Coach of Confluence Stars, David Emmanuel, said the match was a very good game, even though they lost it.
“The difference in points is not much, and this shows that there is an improvement for my team.
“We just came up last year from the division one league to the premier league. We were able to put ourselves together to see what we can do.
”But while we give kudos to both my team and Kano Pillars, it was a good fight at the end.
“This is a new development in handball for us and I think there will be progress in the next two or three matches,” he said.
NAN reports that in other matches played, D:Defenders lost 21-22 to Lagos Seasiders while Safety Shooters defeated Plateau Vipers 22-18.
The 2021 Prudent Energy Handball Premier League which started on Thursday is expected to end on Nov. 3.(NAN)
