For the second consecutive knockout round, Nasarawa United came from a position of vulnerability to win. Against Plateau United in Abuja, the Solid Miners led, conceded a late equaliser, and then found their winner through the same substitute who had proved decisive against Rivers United in the last round.
President Federation Cup Quarter-Final — Bwari Sports Complex, Abuja
Friday, June 12, 2026
Nasarawa United: Abubakar Abdullahi 44′, Ada Umar (sub)
Plateau United: equaliser (late)
Nasarawa United are in the President Federation Cup semi-finals for the first time this season, and they earned the right to be there in exactly the way that defines what they have become under Mbwas Mangut’s management by refusing to let a late equaliser end the story. At the Bwari Sports Complex in Abuja on Friday, the Solid Miners led through a first half header, absorbed a Plateau United comeback in the closing minutes, and then produced the winner through the substitute Ada Umar to advance 2-1 and book a last-four meeting with Ikorodu City.
Mangut reflected on the outcome with the directness he has brought to every post match interview this cup run. He acknowledged that conceding late and still finding a winner in the same fixture showed the character his squad possesses, adding a personal dimension by noting that Plateau United, managed by Gbenga Ogunbote, were his former employers and a tough and difficult opposition. “We are in the Semi Finals, and that’s all that matters,” he concluded. The shift in focus to the next round was immediate and deliberate the same quality of mind that got Nasarawa through two consecutive knockout tests without dropping out. NPFL fans following the President Federation Cup semi finals can get the best pre-match offers through Bet9ja’s how to win guide ahead of the last-four fixtures.
How the Match Unfolded
Nasarawa United controlled the first half in the ways that matter: they organised their defensive shape, limited Plateau United’s creative opportunities, and scored when the opportunity presented itself. Wing-back Abubakar Abdullahi climbed above the Plateau defence to head in from John Victor’s deep throw-in in the 44th minute, giving the Lafia-based side the interval lead they had built the first half to deserve.
The second half followed the same pattern of Nasarawa control until the closing stages, when Plateau United found the equaliser with time running short and briefly threatened to force extra time. The Peace Boys, who had been composed and organised throughout, came to life at exactly the moment the match seemed settled. Mangut responded with his bench, bringing on Ada Umar, whose impact was immediate. The substitute scored the winner in the time that remained, completing the comeback for a side that had been on the back foot and turning the match’s momentum back in Nasarawa’s favour with the decisive goal. It was the kind of impact that comes from a player who had already done exactly the same thing in this competition, having scored for Nasarawa in the Round of 16 against Rivers United. Fans following the President Federation Cup semi-finals and NPFL pre-season news can stay up to date at FootballInNigeria.com.ng’s Bet9ja promotion code page.
Mangut’s Personal Story Against Plateau United
The fixture carried a dimension that Mangut himself acknowledged in his post match interview. Gbenga Ogunbote’s Plateau United are Mangut’s former employers, making this a cup knockout against a club he knows intimately from the inside. That kind of reunion in football tends to produce either restraint in the winner’s reaction or an unusual emotional honesty, and Mangut went with honesty. He described the victory as meaningful precisely because of the opposition’s quality and his familiarity with it, while keeping the overall message tightly focused on what comes next.
What comes next is a semi-final against Ikorodu City, a club that has made considerable noise in this year’s President Federation Cup run. The semi finals represent the furthest Nasarawa United have progressed in the competition under Mangut’s management, and the technical adviser has already signalled that the squad’s prayers and preparations are fully oriented toward continuing. For a club whose NPFL season delivered the title and whose cup run has now extended into the last four, the 2025-26 campaign is shaping into one of the more complete seasons Nasarawa United have had in the modern era. The full bracket and semi-final news for the President Federation Cup are at Nigeria’s top Bet9ja promotion code page alongside all the latest NPFL club news.
📌 Did You Know?
- Ada Umar has now scored as a substitute in consecutive President Federation Cup knockout rounds for Nasarawa United netting in the Round of 16 win over Rivers United and again in Friday’s quarter final victory over Plateau United. Two decisive substitute goals in the same cup campaign is a contribution that most impact players would be proud to claim across an entire career in the competition.
- Gbenga Ogunbote, who managed Plateau United in Friday’s quarter-final loss, is one of the more experienced coaches in Nigerian domestic football and previously managed Warri Wolves, Lobi Stars, and Enyimba across a career spanning over two decades at the top level of the NPFL and various Federation Cup campaigns.
- The Bwari Sports Complex in Abuja, where the quarter-final was played, is one of several FCT based venues used for President Federation Cup knockout fixtures. It sits in Bwari Area Council, a semi-urban district of Abuja’s outskirts, and has hosted matches at various levels of Nigerian football since its development as part of the FCT’s sports infrastructure.
- Nasarawa United are known as the Solid Miners, a nickname drawn from the mineral resource heritage of Nasarawa State, which is home to significant deposits of baryte, limestone, and other solid minerals. The club was founded in 2000 and has been promoted and relegated between the NPFL and NNL on multiple occasions across their relatively young history.
- Ikorodu City, Nasarawa United’s semi-final opponents, reached the last four of the President Federation Cup having eliminated Enyimba on penalties in the Round of 16 — one of the more striking upsets of the competition’s knockout phase this season. Their continued progress mirrors the pattern of lower profile NPFL clubs making deep cup runs that Nigeria’s knockout competition has historically produced.
- Plateau United, nicknamed the Peace Boys, are based in Jos, Plateau State. The club has a significant history in Nigerian football, having previously won the President Federation Cup and competed regularly in CAF competitions at the height of their continental involvement in the 2010s.
- The President Federation Cup semi-finals now feature Nasarawa United, Ikorodu City, and two other clubs yet to complete their quarter final fixtures. The full bracket for the last four confirms that this year’s semi final stage will not include either Rangers International or Enyimba the NPFL’s most historically prominent cup clubs who were both eliminated in earlier rounds.
