Inter Lagos claimed their first win of the 2026/27 NPFL season after teenage forward Moses Ezekiel scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory over Enyimba in Aba.
The 19th-minute strike ended Inter Lagos’ three-match losing run and earned the Lagos-based club a notable victory against the nine-time champions and two-time CAF Champions League winners.
Head coach Shakiru Giwa praised Ezekiel, who scored his first goal of the campaign in only his second or third appearance.
“He’s still a young player. Scoring an important goal like that against an African giant team like Enyimba will give him confidence and boost his career going forward,” Giwa said.
Giwa, a former Enyimba player who also represented Julius Berger of Lagos and Bnei Yehuda of Israel, admitted few expected Inter Lagos to take anything from the match after defeats by 3SC, Doma United and Sporting Lagos in their opening three fixtures.
“To start with, we really have to thank God for everything. We lost all three games before this one, so nobody gave us any chance coming into this game,” he said.
“But we put our acts together. We are playing in the NPFL for the first time and the team is just three years old. To come here and play against a giant team like Enyimba is a good thing for us.”
Giwa said the result should encourage Inter Lagos’ young squad, while warning that the performance must become the foundation for improvement rather than an isolated result.
“It’s a sign for us that we can go back to the drawing board, do some corrections and consolidate on this win. It will boost the morale of the young players that we’re working with,” he added.
The match was played after heavy rain in Aba, which began about two hours before kick-off and continued intermittently during the game. Giwa called the conditions a “shower of blessing” for his side.
“You can say it’s in our favour because, for us to come here and win after losing three games back-to-back, it’s a blessing to us,” he said.
He added that Inter Lagos’ general manager had told him the score could have been higher if there had been no rain, because the visitors had played good football.
Giwa attributed his team’s poor start to late preparation and a lack of experience. He said the squad was largely made up of NNL and NLO players, with only one member having previously played in the NPFL.
“After pre-season, we had only six days before our first match. We need time to train for the players to blend together properly,” he said.
The coach defended Inter Lagos’ attacking approach, saying they had chosen not to sit deep despite their early defeats.
“If you fail to plan, that means you’ve planned to fail. We know that, game by game, we’ll get better as a team,” he said.
Giwa described the win as a possible turning point, but said his players must maintain their standards before Wednesday’s match against Kano Pillars.
“You cannot defeat a ‘giant of Africa’ and go back home and mess up. We can only go back home and consolidate on what we’ve done here today,” he said.