Kano Pillars move fourth after 2-0 EUROMATCH NPFL win over Nasarawa United

Kano Pillars manager Daniel Ogunmodede says his team are gradually adapting to the pressure of playing in front of demanding home supporters after their 2-0 victory over Nasarawa United in week 11 of the EUROMATCH NPFL.

The result in Kano on Sunday extended Pillars’ unbeaten run to three matches and lifted them to fourth place in the table with 18 points.

Ibrahim Yahaya put the hosts ahead in the 15th minute, while Fabian Nworie doubled their advantage 20 minutes into the second half.

Ogunmodede said the expectation to win every home match had created pressure around the team, but added that the standards demanded by the supporters could also help drive the players.

“Most of the time we play with so much pressure here. Obviously we want to win, our fans want us to win every game,” he told reporters.

“We know what it means when we are leading 2-0 and they still want more. But for me that is the kind of hunger I want from the spectators, from the players. The good thing is that we are adapting gradually to it.”

How Pillars overcame Nasarawa

Nasarawa United had occupied third place before the match, and Ogunmodede praised their technical and tactical quality.

He explained that Kano Pillars attempted to unsettle their opponents by using their wing-backs in inverted positions during the opening stages, creating space in central areas and causing problems for Nasarawa United’s full-backs.

“We played against a very good team, they were sitting third on the table before we played them. They were technically and tactically sound,” said Ogunmodede.

“In the first 20 minutes of the game we tried to use our wing backs inverting and that created a lot of confusion for their full backs and it gave us enough space in the central areas of the field and we had a couple of chances which we should have taken one of them.”

Pillars changed their approach after the interval by targeting the wide areas. Ogunmodede felt that adjustment could have produced an even bigger victory, although he acknowledged that his side missed a number of opportunities.

“In the second half we came with the plan of trying to exploit wide areas and I think in the second half we deserve to score maybe three or more goals but unfortunately we were a little bit wasteful,” he said.

“Nasarawa are a compact team, a team that deserves a lot but we were absolutely ready for them.”

The manager also stressed the wider importance of the victory, saying it would strengthen Pillars’ league position while easing pressure on both the supporters and the players.

“We knew what it means to win this match, because it boosts our position in the table, it will calm down the nerves of our fans and also cool the pressure on the players,” he added.

“So I’m happy we got the maximum three points and not just the three points but with a clean sheet.”