Super Eagles captain Ahmed Musa delivered a dramatic late winner for Kano Pillars in a thrilling 2-1 victory over Niger Tornadoes in their Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) encounter on Saturday at the Kofar Mata Stadium.
The 32-year-old star, making his return to the starting line-up after recovering from a two-week injury lay-off, showed his class with a decisive goal in the dying moments of the match.
However, Kano Pillars had to navigate the game without their influential midfielder Rabiu Ali, who was on international duty.
Kano Pillars started the match with high intensity, launching wave after wave of attacks on the Tornadoes defence, and their breakthrough came in the 30th minute.
Rasheed Allhasan capitalized on a well-delivered free-kick by Naziru Ado, to put the home side ahead.
Tornadoes came out with renewed purpose in the second half, and got thei reward when left-back Mohammed Aliyu unleashed a stunning long-range effort that sailed into the net, silencing the home crowd and restoring parity at 1-1.
The equaliser set up a pulsating final half-hour, with both teams pushing for a winner.
Ahmed Musa gets the last laugh
Ahmed Musa had a golden opportunity in the 75th minute when he found himself one-on-one with Yusuf Mohammed, but the Tornadoes goalkeeper produced an excellent save to deny the former Leicester City forward.
As the game seemed destined for a draw, Musa stepped up in the final moments to deliver a moment of magic.
With virtually the last kick of the match, Musa beat the offside trap to shoot past Yusuf Mohammed to secure all three points for Kano Pillars.
The goal marked his sixth of the season as his latest return to the NPFL continues to bear fruits.
