Relegation-threatened Sunshine Stars staged a remarkable comeback to defeat Kwara United 4-2 in a six-goal thriller in their Nigeria Premier Football League matchday 27 encounter at the Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne on Saturday.

Midfielder Ahmadu Liman was the star of the show, netting a superb hat-trick to help the Akure side secure their first win in three league games and ease their relegation worries.

Liman put Sunshine Stars ahead after 11 minutes with a well-taken volley, but Kwara United turned the game on its head with two quick goals through Issa Gata and Wasiu Alalade in the 22nd and 27th minutes respectively.

The hosts fought back determinedly, with Kwara United’s Olaniyi Saheed turning Waheed Adebayo’s cross into his own net in the 32nd minute to level the scores.

Liman then restored Sunshine Stars’ lead on the stroke of halftime after being set up by star midfielder Seth Mayi, before completing his hat-trick with a brilliant finish inside the area just two minutes after the restart.

The victory temporarily lifted Bala Abubakar’s side out of the bottom four to 16th position on the log with 31 points, while Kwara United remain 11th with 36 points.

Star midfielder Seth Mayi and striker Stephen Chukwude were named in Sunshine Stars’ starting XI for this crucial relegation battle, while the visitors had several regular starters either missing or on the bench.

The remaining fixtures of matchday 27 will be played on Sunday (today) and Monday across various venues nationwide.