Mustapha Umar’s 48th minute goal at the General Sani Abacha Stadium, Kano made the difference as Kano Pillars beat Sporting Lagos 1-0 on match-day 26 of the Nigeria Premier Football League on Saturday, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The Sai Masu Gida, as Pillars are popularly known, bounced back from last weekend 2-1 defeat to Bayelsa United to claim their 12th win of the season and their first in the last five games.
The victory moves Pillar to sixth on the NPFL table above Shooting Stars who travel to Kaduna where they face Niger Tornadoes at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium on Monday.
Meanwhile, in the second Savannah Derby of the season, Doma United and Gombe played out a 1-1 draw at the Gombe Township Stadium pantami.
The visitors, who are without a win in their last five games, took the lead just 12 minutes into the game through David Nnaji to silence the home crowd before Musa Usman leveled the score in the 64th minute as both sides shared the spoils.
The draw means both sides continue their search for first win in their last five games.
Heading into the encounter, Doma United lost 4-0 to Bendeal Insurance last time out while Gombe played a 1-1 draw with Akwa United.
However, it was the visitors that started the brighter side and immediately took the lead just 12 minutes into the derby while also hitting the woodwork just before the half time.
After the early setback from the Savannah Tigers, as Doma United are fondly called, they returned better in the second half with more intent.
In the 54th minute, Andrew Majalisa, Hillary Ekawu and Usman Musa combined well to set up the latter who fired a shot that came off the cross bar.
The home side were however rewarded in the 64th minute through Usman who pounced on the ball following up on a spectacular volley from Majalisa.
Both sides could not find the equaliser as the Savannah derby ended in a draw.
