BY OUR NPFL CORRESPONDENT AT THE SAMSON SIASIA STADIUM
IT IS one of the toughest trips in world football, but El-Kanemi Warriors proved they aren’t afraid of a little swamp fever as they snatched a 1-0 win in the heart of the Niger Delta.
While the bright lights of London felt a world away, the drama at the Samson Siasia Stadium was pure Box Office.
Nestled in the humid embrace of Yenagoa, the venue—famed for its intimidating atmosphere and vocal “Prosperity Boys” support—became a graveyard for Bayelsa United’s ambitions on Sunday afternoon.
The stadium, named after the Super Eagles legend, was a cauldron of noise as the home fans expected a pre-New Year feast. But instead of a party, they were served a cold dish of tactical perfection by the visiting Warriors.
The decisive blow landed just as the halftime oranges were being prepared. With the Yenagoa humidity thick enough to cut with a knife, Sadiq Mohammed found a pocket of space in the 45th minute.
He didn’t need a second invitation. Mohammed ghosted past the Bayelsa backline and fired home, turning the raucous Samson Siasia stands into a stunned silence.
Bayelsa United threw everything—including the kitchen sink—at the visitors in the second half.
The home side used every inch of their familiar turf, trying to exploit the heavy air and the tiring legs of the Northerners who had traveled over 1,000 miles for this fixture.
But the Warriors lived up to their name.
They sat deep, defended their box like a fortress, and defied the Bayelsa pressure to climb the table and leave the home side looking over their shoulders at the relegation scrap.
In the end, the “Prosperity Boys” found no wealth in front of goal, and El-Kanemi headed back to Maiduguri with the most precious cargo of all: three points from the toughest backyard in the Delta.
