Ranchers Bees vs Rivers United: Goalless Draw Lifts Finidi’s Side to Second in NPFL

Ranchers Bees vs Rivers United ended goalless on Monday, and the point was still enough to lift Finidi George’s side into second place in the Euromatch NPFL table. The rescheduled Matchday 6 game on September 28 left Rivers United on 11 points from five matches, one behind leaders Barau FC, who have played a game more.

Both sides created chances but neither could find the finish, and Rivers United’s unbeaten league start now stands at three wins and two draws. It’s the second straight game in which the Port Harcourt club have kept a clean sheet after their 5-0 win over Kun Khalifat, and they’ve now conceded only once in five league games this season.

Rivers United’s defence keeps them in the title conversation

Rivers United came into the week having run over Kun Khalifat 5-0, so a blank against Ranchers Bees will feel like two points dropped rather than one gained. Even so, a record of 10 goals scored and one conceded is the best defensive return in the division, and it gives them the strongest goal difference of any club in the top six.

The league has become Rivers United’s only focus this season. They went out of the CAF Champions League in the first preliminary round on away goals against FC San Pedro, as covered in our look at the Nigerian clubs still in CAF competition, and that continental run is why they’ve played fewer league games than most of their rivals.

Why Ranchers Bees will take real encouragement from this point

Ranchers Bees had lost three of their first five games, and holding one of the division’s most in-form sides gives them seven points from six matches. That moves them away from the bottom four and into a crowded mid-table pack where six clubs are now level on seven points.

They head to Ilorin next for a Matchday 7 meeting with Kwara United on Sunday, October 4, and a result there would keep them clear of the congestion at the bottom, where Enyimba are still searching for a first win after finally getting a point in Kano on Matchday 6.

The game in hand that could put Rivers United on top

Rivers United still have to play their postponed Matchday 2 fixture away to Katsina United, which was called off from its original September 6 date. Some fixture listings have the game down for this week, but the NPFL hasn’t published a confirmed new date on its site yet. A win in Katsina would take Finidi’s side to 14 points and two clear of Barau, which makes that rearranged trip one of the most important games of the early season.

After that, Rivers United host Ikorodu City at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium on Sunday in one of the standout ties of Matchday 7, while Barau travel to Benin to face Bendel Insurance and Plateau United visit Enyimba in Aba.

With the top five separated by two points, every result this week matters at the summit, and the full NPFL table will look very different if Rivers United turn their game in hand into three points before Sunday.