Heartland Football Club of Owerri edged Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries Football Club of Lagos 1-0 at the Dan Anyiam Stadium in Match Day 7 of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) tie on Sunday evening.<br /><br />It wasn&rsquo;t the result the Olukoya Boys wanted, but they will take it in good faith after suffering a one nil defeat in the hands of the Naze Millionaires courtesy of&nbsp; a 31st minute goal by Fortune Omoniwari.<br /><br />Both teams started the game very lively as they entertained their fans with good artistry of the round leather game.<br /><br />Julius Ubido of Heartland missed a good scoring chance in the 9th minute of the encounter, MFM FC responded with defender Stanley Okorom&rsquo;s effort hitting the woodwork.<br /><br />The Lagos-based side gave the visitors a run for their money in the midfield with the quartet of Oladele Oshobe, Atu lrumekhai, Ifeanyi Ifeanyi and Onuwa Chukwuka asserting their authority over the homers.<br /><br />Heartland soaked the pressure from Fidelis Ilechukwu&rsquo;s men and controlled the game for a few minutes, MFM stand-in captain, Austine Opara cleared a whipped in corner kick.<br /><br />Omoniwari however scored the only goal of the day with a flick header that beat goalkeeper James Aiyeyemi off an assist from Ajoku. The first 45 minutes ended with the home team maintaining a one goal lead.<br /><br />The second 45 minutes resumed with MFM FC dominating possession and dictating the pace of the match as they forced the hosts to a defensive play.<br /><br />Ifeanyi was booked for the first yellow card of the day in the 57th minute for a foul.<br /><br />In his quest to get a result from Owerri, coach Ilechukwu introduced former Heartland FC goal poacher, Isah Akor for petit midfielder, Onuwa while Newman Musa was substituted for Festus Ajah. <br /><br />&lrm;Meanwhile, Oshobe received the second yellow card of the game and was replaced in the 82nd minute by team captain, Kenedium Nelson.<br /><br />Akor and Favour troubled Heartland defence and kept their defenders at bay. NPFL debutant, Austine Ogunye gave good account of himself with two shots on&nbsp; target in the second half.<br /><br />MFM FC won a free kick 30 yards from goal in stoppage time after a bad challenge on Akor. Heartland FC defenders stood their grounds and blocked Ifeanyi&rsquo;s well taken free kick in the dying minutes of the entertaining encounter.<br /><br />The nervy encounter ended with Heartland defeating the highly spirited MFM FC 1-0.<br /><br />The Olukoya Boys sit on second spot on the league table with 13 points from 7 NPFL matches. <br /><br />MFM FC&rsquo;s next game comes in three days when they host Kano Pillars at the Agege Stadium on Wednesday.<br /><br /><b>Igho Kingsley</b><br />