Bendel Insurance, looking to bounce back from their opening-day defeat, were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Shooting Stars in a tense encounter in Benin.
The visitors struck first, with Ayodele Ismail opening the scoring in the 5th minute, registering the Oluyole Warriors’ first goal of the 2025/26 Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) season.
The lead however didn’t last long, as Alex Oweilayefa leveled matters for the Benin Arsenal just seven minutes after going behind with a well-placed header.
The second half produced plenty of action, with both teams creating chances but failing to find a breakthrough. Late in the game, Shooting Stars goalkeeper Mustapha Lawal was called into action, pulling off two brilliant saves to deny the hosts a dramatic winner.
At full-time, both sides settled for a share of the spoils. For Bendel Insurance, it was a disappointing result in front of their home crowd, leaving them with just one point from two matches. Shooting Stars, meanwhile, head back to Ibadan with a valuable point, following their opening-day home defeat to Bayelsa United.
Next fixtures:
• Bendel Insurance travel to Kano to face Barau FC.
• Shooting Stars welcome Ikorodu City in Ibadan.
(Both matches are scheduled for September 7th).
