Sunshine Stars Youth on Tuesday defeated Bucknor FC 5-3 in an eight-goal thriller during Matchday 11 of the 2024/25 National Youth League at the Remo Stars Stadium, Ikenne, Ogun State.

The Ondo State-based youth side scored five goals in the first half of the entertaining encounter, with Samuel Matthew netting a hat-trick and Ikulamberu Ariyo adding a brace.

However, Sunshine Stars Youth lost focus in the second half as their hosts responded with three goals shortly after the restart.

Despite making tactical changes, the visitors were unable to alter the course of the game further.

The Nigeria Premier Football League youth team secured maximum points to maintain their position at the top of the league table with 24 points.

Speaking with Sporting Hope, the head coach of Sunshine Stars Youth Team, Olanrewaju Ale, explained that his players lost concentration in the second half after dominating the first half with five goals.

Ale stated that the match was not a bad outing for his side, noting that they utilised their chances effectively in the first half.

According to him, “in the second half, we gave some of our reserve players a chance to play since we were leading comfortably.

“The truth is, we lost control of the game in the second half, and our opponents took advantage to score three goals.

After they scored their third goal, we decided to lock the midfield to avoid conceding further.

I’m satisfied with my players’ performance. These are the same players who have been consistent since the start of the league.

“Conceding three goals in one half should not define their overall performance.

“Nevertheless, we’ll return home and work on areas where we’ve identified weaknesses”, he said.