Doma United stay top despite 4-1 Kano Pillars hammering
Doma United suffered their first defeat of the NPFL season in brutal fashion, losing 4-1 to Kano Pillars in Kano — but the promoted side still finished the weekend on top of the table.
The Savannah Tigers arrived at the Sani Abacha Stadium with a perfect nine points from their opening three matches and without conceding a goal.
Ninety minutes later, that unbeaten start was gone.
Their place at the summit was not.
Doma remain first with nine points from four matches, one ahead of Barau FC, while Kano Pillars have climbed to seven points from three games.
Pillars tear into the leaders
Kano Pillars took the lead in the 19th minute when Abdullahi Musa converted from a free kick.
Rabiu Ali then missed a penalty in the 28th minute, but the veteran recovered quickly.
Five minutes later, Ali’s close-range effort took a deflection and beat goalkeeper Pius Ibrahim to give Pillars a 2-0 half-time advantage.
It was the first time this season that Doma’s early momentum had been seriously broken.
Doma respond before Pillars pull away
Coach Deji Ayeni reacted at the interval with two substitutions, and Doma were rewarded in the 53rd minute.
Rilwan Sadiq rose at the far post to head in from a corner, cutting the deficit to 2-1 and briefly putting the leaders back into the contest.
Doma pushed for an equaliser, with Sadiq forcing another save in the 70th minute.
Then Kano Pillars struck again.
Ahmed Musa restored the two-goal cushion in the 77th minute before Pillars added a fourth in stoppage time to complete the 4-1 win.
Perfect start ends, first place survives
The defeat was a sharp reversal for a Doma side that had opened the campaign with three straight victories.
Before travelling to Kano, the newly promoted team had scored five goals without conceding and collected maximum points from three matches.
Pillars changed that in one afternoon.
Four goals conceded.
First defeat.
Perfect record gone.
Yet the table still leaves Doma looking down on the rest of the division.
After four matches, they remain first with nine points.
Plateau United becomes the response test
Doma’s next challenge comes quickly against Plateau United.
It gives Ayeni’s side an immediate opportunity to show whether the Kano collapse was a one-off or the beginning of a more difficult phase.
For Kano Pillars, the result delivered more than three points.
They became the first team this season to beat Doma, the first to breach their defence — and then did it four times.
Doma United are still top.
But their perfect start has been ripped open.