Paul E FC of Abuja on Wednesday defeated Bussdor United 2-0 in a Week 6 fixture of the 2026 Nigeria Nationwide League One (NLO) Cup at the Area 3 Football Pitch, Abuja.
The victory came alongside the test run of ScoutLyx, an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered football platform being developed to improve player performance analysis and talent discovery.
Bussdor United, an Imo-based club, dominated proceedings in the first half, creating several scoring opportunities but failed to convert them.
Paul E FC returned stronger after the break, taking control of the game and putting pressure on their opponents.
The breakthrough came 18 minutes into the second half when Paul E FC captain, Nasiru Abdullahi, scored the opening goal.
Kelvin Emmanuel added the second goal to seal a 2-0 victory for the Abuja-based side.
Speaking after the match, Paul E FC Head Coach, Bolarinwa Idris, attributed his players’ improved second-half performance to motivation from the club’s management and instructions from the technical crew.
He commended the club chairman for consistently encouraging and supporting the team.
“I think that’s enough motivation for them to go ahead, and they came back and scored two goals for us.
“We told them from the second half that we would give them 50 minutes to make sure they win this match for us, and it ended the way we wanted. We won,” he said.
Idris also commended the NLO for introducing the Cup competition ahead of the main league season, saying it provided players with opportunities to prepare through competitive matches.
He, however, appealed to the organisers to provide more recovery time between fixtures, particularly because many players were aged between 17 and 19.
“The challenge is that there is no more recovery time. We play on Friday now, and we need to play on Sunday again, and we play on Wednesday.
“Maybe in subsequent days, they should allow us at least three days’ rest for us to come back because the players are under-19 and Under-18. Because of injury, they need time to recover,” he said.
The coach described the officiating as fair and expressed confidence in the future of his young players, noting that some were aged between 15, 16 and 17.
He called on sponsors, partners and football scouts to support the club and provide opportunities for emerging talents.
Paul E FC captain, Nasiru Abdullahi, said the victory was important to the team’s position in the competition and would boost the players’ confidence ahead of their next fixture.
He attributed the team’s improved performance to the coach’s half-time instructions and encouragement.
Abdullahi, who identified Spanish defender Sergio Ramos as his role model, said he hoped to play for one of Europe’s top clubs within the next five years.
Meanwhile, Annabell Elesho, representing the technology developers, said ScoutLyx was an AI-powered football platform designed to provide player analysis, performance statistics and talent discovery tools.
She explained that the platform would enable players to understand their abilities and monitor their progress, while providing scouts, coaches and other football stakeholders with data to identify and assess emerging talents.
Elesho said Wednesday’s match served as a demonstration of a prototype developed to test the platform during a live competitive fixture.
She described the test run as successful, adding that the exercise also helped the development team identify areas requiring improvement, before the platform’s wider introduction.
