Sharks lost their battle to remain in the Premier League after their 1-0 loss to Abia Warriors in Umuahia on the last day of the competition on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Enyimba lifted the trophy for the seventh time after battling to a goalless draw against Sunshine Stars in Lagos to set a record of 70 points. Enyimba thus denied their opponents a chance to play continental football next year. Nasarawa beat Giwa United 2-0 to book their CAF Confederation Cup ticket with 63 points.
Enyimba won 19 matches, drew 13 and lost only six matches. They scored 48 goals and conceded 27. The Aba team will play in the CAF Champions League next season along with Warri Wolves, who placed second with 63 points, despite having a match left.
Sharks needed an outright win to retain their Premier League status but they failed the test as Michael Olaha scored from close range.
The Port Harcourt outfit joined Kwara United, Taraba and Bayelsa United, who had earlier been relegated before the last day.
Akwa United also survived relegation after beating Lobi Stars 1-0. They ended the season in 15th place with 47 points. Relegated Kwara ended the season with 39 points while Bayelsa had 34 points.
Shooting Stars fought back from a goal deficit to draw 2-2 against a determined Dolphins.
Tope Orelope scored from the spot in the 21st minute to put 3SC ahead. But the Port Harcourt side came back into the game in the closing stages of the first half. However, they could not get the desired equaliser as 3SC held on.
Ifeanyi Egwim came on to score twice in the 71st and 74th minutes to cancel Tope Orelope’s penalty goal in the first half. But Cletus Itodo denied Stanley Eguma’s men a famous win in Ibadan at the death.
However, some of the home fans did not hide their feelings as they accused their team of trying to help Dolphins to escape relegation. Many left before the end of the match.
