Nasarawa United “Unlucky” as Warri Wolves Edge Them 1–0 — Mangut Reacts

On Matchday 15 of the 2025/26 Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL), Nasarawa United suffered a narrow 1–0 defeat away to Warri Wolves. The game was decided early when Othuke Egbo struck in the 7th minute to hand Warri Wolves the three points.

Nasarawa United’s technical adviser Mbwas Mangut expressed his frustration — but also tried to temper it with realism. He insisted his side deserved at least a point, pointing to multiple missed goal-scoring opportunities and sheer bad luck rather than tactical failure. “We played better, missed a lot of goal scoring chances, but were just unlucky,” Mangut told the club’s media after the match.

Despite the setback, Mangut maintained that the league is a “marathon,” and vowed that the Solid Miners would bounce back and keep fighting for their targets this season. Their next match sees them return home to the Lafia City Stadium to host Shooting Stars FC.

Editorial

In the crucible of league competition, perfection is not always demanded just small margins  one touch, one lapse, one moment ungrasped. Nasarawa United’s defeat at Warri Wolves typifies exactly how fragile hope can be. A goal conceded inside seven minutes, and despite domination, despite chances that early punch proved enough to punish.

For Mangut’s team, the narrative is not failure but frustration. Their performance was not lacking their final product was. The creativity, the movement, the shots all present. Yet in a game where a single strike sets the tone, wastefulness becomes the gravest sin. Warri Wolves sat back, built their defence around that slender lead, and resisted every wave. It is a blueprint we have seen countless times before and one that still delivers.

The defeat does not end a season it reaffirms a truth in a marathon, endurance matters, but so do the details. In Serie A, in the EPL, in the NPFL from youth to veteran, all players know this: control the big picture, but respect the little ones. Nasarawa United remain capable. They have the squad, the strategy and crucially, the resolve. What they need now is sharper execution.

As they return to Lafia for the next game, the pressure will be on to convert potential into points. Because if this season proves anything, it is that glory rarely comes to the nice  it belongs to the ruthless, the practised, the precise.

Did You Know?

1. Before this defeat, Nasarawa United had reclaimed the NPFL top spot after a 3–0 victory over El-Kanemi Warriors on Matchday 14.
2. Their home ground, the Lafia City Stadium, had played host to a string of clean sheets and commanding wins until their perfect home record was halted by a 1–1 draw with Kwara United FC earlier in the season.
3. The goal by Othuke Egbo was scored in the opening 10 minutes a time frame often statistically shown to dramatically reduce the likelihood of a comeback by the trailing side.
4. Nasarawa United created more shots on target than Warri Wolves in the match, yet still lost an outcome that underlines how shot volume rarely tells the full story without conversion efficiency.
5. Historically in the NPFL, teams leading the standings after Matchday 15 go on to finish in the top four about 70% of the time  meaning Nasarawa United remain very much in the conversation, despite this setback.