Abia Comets pick away point against Sunshine Stars

By Emmanuel Chinedu in Akure

Abia Comets showed a lot of resilience with another brilliant away performance, following the 1-1 draw with Sunshine Stars, in a Southern Conference A Matchday 7 encounter, on Saturday, at the Ondo State Sports Stadium, Akure.

Nothing could separate both sides in the opening 45 minutes of the game, as they went into the halftime break with the game tied goalless.

In the second half, Abia Comets started to show clear determination to change the game’s momentum, when Maduka Okechukwu came inches close to opening the scoring for the visitors, but his shot was saved by Sunshine Stars goalkeeper after 55th minute.

A few minutes later, Martins Cletus had a great opportunity to put the Comets ahead, when he went through on goal, after beaten off the defender, but his strike was saved by the Sunshine Stars goalkeeper in the 75th minute.

However, with ten minutes left to play in the game, Abia Comets made the breakthrough,

When Usman Garba struck home what could be counted as one of the best goals of the season, with a thunderbolt finish from outside the box.

Comets goalkeeper, Moses Akam, who made his first appearance of the season, denied the host a goal when he made a brilliant late-minute save in the 85th minute of the game.

The host levelled it 1-1 in the final minute of the additional time as both sides shared the points In Akure.

Speaking after the final game, Technical Adviser, Dipreye Teibowei, praised his team for their resilience and determination to secure a positive result.

“I’m really proud of the players’ performance.  Even as we came close to getting the maximum points, we will take the point against a tough side like Sunshine Stars, so it is a good result for us,” Dipreye said.

With the draw, the Comets have gained nine points in the first seven games of the season and also secured a vital back-to-back away point in a row.

Comets will be back in action with a home encounter against Heartland, in an Oriental derby, on Saturday, January 3rd, 2026, following the resumption after the Christmas and New Year celebrations.