Zulkifilu hits NPFL season’s first hat-trick as Ranchers crush Abia Warriors

Former Flying Eagles attacker Mohammed Rabiu Zulkifilu produced a memorable performance yesterday, scoring the first hat-trick of the 2026/27 Nigeria Premier Football League season as Ranchers Bees thrashed Abia Warriors 4-0 at the Muhammadu Dikko Stadium, Katsina.

The rescheduled NPFL Matchday Two encounter had originally been fixed for Sunday but was moved to Monday because the stadium was unavailable.

Zulkifilu was the star of the contest, scoring twice before half-time and completing his treble shortly after the hour mark before Jamilu Yusuf added a fourth in the closing stages.

Abia Warriors held their own for much of the opening half, but their resistance was finally broken in the 41st minute when Zulkifilu struck to put the hosts ahead.

The former Nigeria U20 forward was not finished. He scored again in the 45th minute to give Ranchers Bees a commanding 2-0 advantage heading into the break.

Any hope of an Abia Warriors comeback disappeared in the 62nd minute when Zulkifilu completed his hat-trick, becoming the first player to score three goals in a single NPFL match this season.

Ranchers Bees continued to push for more and were rewarded in the 90th minute when Jamilu Yusuf completed the 4-0 rout.

The victory was an emphatic response from the newly promoted side following their 3-1 defeat to Ikorodu City on the opening weekend.

For Abia Warriors, it was a difficult outing after they had begun their campaign with a goalless draw against fellow newcomers Kun Khalifat.

The Ranchers Bees-Abia Warriors encounter brought the curtain down on a reduced Matchday Two programme, with several fixtures affected by the involvement of Nigerian clubs in CAF inter-club competitions.

NPFL Matchday Two Results

Kano Pillars 3-2 Tornadoes

Nasarawa United 1-0 Insurance

Plateau United 1-0 Kwara United

Ranchers Bees 4-0 Abia Warriors

Kun Khalifat 0-0 Barau

Inter Lagos 0-1 Doma United