Former champions El-Kanemi Warriors of Maiduguri were on Wednesday in Abuja spared the agony of elimination from the 2023 Federation Cup Round of 64 by a penalty kicks shootout.

Goalkeeper Emeka Onyia spared the blushes of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) side by saving a vital penalty kick during their shootout encounter against De Cardinals Sports Club.

The Port Harcourt-based Football Academy club side qualified for the round of 64 following their exploits in the Rivers FA Cup competition.

They only lost narrowly to eventual winners and NPFL defending champions Rivers United after pushing the football giants all the way to a penalty kicks shootout.

The Round of 64 matches played at the Area 3 football pitch saw De Cardinals begin on the front foot with an aggressive approach.

They were hell-bent on imposing their style of play and bossing their NPFL foes around as they looked for the opener.

The goal would eventually come as Godstime Nupe opened scoring in the 25th minute with a beautifully-placed shot from just outside the penalty box.

This was after a clever work on the right by Justice Matthew who beat Mohammed Ahmed before delivering a clever cross that found a lurking Nupe.

El-Kanemi had a chance of theirs in the 32nd minute to draw level and they thought they had done just that.

But Mohammed’s point-blank shot from inside the opponents’ box following a goal-mouth scramble was ruled out for offside.

The second half saw coach Hamza Abdul’azeez ring the changes as he made two vital substitutions in an effort to restore parity.

Lukman Mohammed and Abraham Audu came in for Daddy Abdulrahman and Al-Amin Umar respectively.

The changes seemed likely to pay off as El-Kanemi looked sharper and created a lot of scoring chances, but the visitors’ defense was resolute as they looked to defend their slim lead.

As the game wore on, the visitors were more contented with sitting back in defense and catching their opponents on the counter.

De Cardinals had a lovely opportunity as they looked for the sitter in a bid to put the game to bed.

But Kunle Oyetosho saw his well-measured free-kick saved by goalkeeper Onyia who showed good reflex to parry the ball away for a corner kick.

They had another chance five minutes later but Aliyu Haliru’s clever lob over Onyia narrowly missed its target.

However, just when it seemed like the match was all done and dusted, Ismail Risilanu got the much-needed equalizer for El-Kanemi with a superb last-gasp shot from 20 yards.

With the lottery of penalty kicks shootout, it was the El-Kanemi Warriors who ran out 5-3 victors to advance to the round of 32.

The win served as a consolation for the NPFL side who are currently neck deep in the relegation waters.

The Maiduguri-based club side presently sits last on the Group A table with nine points from 15 matches played so far in the abridged 2022/2023 NPFL season.