Substitute Mohammed Sylla paid back the coach’s trust in him as the game-changer, scoring two crucial late goals to secure a thrilling home win for Mahanaim FC who had endured a gruelling Thursday evening against visiting FC Sarkin Darki.
Sylla’s goals in the 89th minute and 95th minute were enough to confirm the superiority of the ‘Hot Boys’ over the difficult opponents.
Coach Saheed Jimoh opted for an entirely different line-up to the team that beat Greenlock FC a fortnight ago. The match against FC Sarkin Darki is a two-legged affair, with Mahanaim FC hosting the first leg on their temporary home turf at the Brown Check School on Chikakore junction, Kubwa, Abuja.
The attack led by Mamoudou Batchily, Monday Abdul and Ifechukwu James did everything else but couldn’t find the back of the net, as the first half ended goalless.
Both teams threw in fresher legs in the second half as the game searched for a goal. Coach Saheed Jimoh then decided to use another trick from the book as he switched from a 4-3-3 formation to a 4-2-4 formation, throwing in more attackers, including match-winner Mohammed Sylla.
Sylla broke the deadlock in the 85th minute, reacting first to lose the ball in to beat the goalkeeper. This late goal buoyed the ‘Hot Boys’ and their fans, while the opponents were heartbroken as Mahanaim searched for more.
Sylla’ again roofed another shot into the back of the from close range after a well-timed pass. He almost scored a third goal before the referee decided to end the game at 2-nil; and meanwhile, another game charger was Abdullahi Shuaibu who came on in the second half provided the assists for Mohammed Sylla. This result continued Mahanaim FC’s good run in 2025 with two wins, from two matches.
Starting XI: Christopher Edoh-Gk, Sabiu Abdullahi-RB, Manga Joshua-LB (Prince Sabo LB) Ikoh Danjuma-DM, Khalifa Imam-CB, Destiny Anthony-CB, Samad Adejumo-DM, Emmanuel Elijah-AM (Abdullahi Dahiru-RW) Ifechukwu James-RW (Mohammed Sylla-RW), Monday Abdul-LW ( Abdullahi Shuaibu-LW)
Mamoudou Batchily-CF (Fowler Boris-CF)
Subs
Marcus Haruna-DM
Folder Boris-CF
Mohammed Sylla-RW
Abdullahi Dahiru-RW
Abdullahi Shuaibu-LW
Prince Sabo-LB
Emma Adi-LW