The head coach of Rivers United, Finidi George, praised his team for securing a valuable point in their Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) match against Bendel Insurance on Sunday, September 8.
Despite playing with 10 men for most of the second half, the team managed to hold their opponents to a 0-0 draw, displaying strong defensive resilience.
Finidi George expressed his satisfaction with the result and emphasized the need for the team to consolidate their performance as they prepare for their next home game against Heartland.
“It’s never easy, even my time with Enyimba. It is always a difficult place to even pick a point. For us playing with one man less and we were able to defend till the end. I must commend my boys. This is just the beginning and now we just have to think how we can go back home and consolidate,” Finidi told Rivers United media.
“We will be playing at home and we will try to give our best to win that game. Every game is difficult in the NPFL. We are happy with this one point. You can’t take anything away from them. They gave their best but at the end of the day, getting that one point is crucial for us.”
Boboye Wants Sunshine Stars To Keep Winning
Kennedy Boboye, the technical adviser of Sunshine Stars, urged his players to maintain their momentum following a convincing 3-0 victory over Bayelsa United.
Boboye emphasized that there is still room for improvement and that the team needs to replicate their training ground performances in their upcoming match against Remo Stars.
“We are not there yet,” Boboye said.
“We are just trying to play the way we did at our training sessions, we still have more to do.”
Ogunbote Contented With a Draw
Gbenga Ogunbote, the technical adviser of Shooting Stars, expressed contentment with his team’s performance in a 1-1 draw against Nasarawa United.
Despite seeing the result as two points dropped, Ogunbote recognized the team’s effort and emphasized the need to take control of matches early on.
“Being the first game, I want to say I’m happy for the one point because it is better than nothing, but I think, as far as I’m concerned, it’s a two points loss for me,” Ogunbote told 3SC media.
“It’s a game we needed to have wrapped but going home with a point, I think it’s enough to console us.
“I didn’t see us losing the game, all we just needed to do is just to get ourselves stabilized and take authority, and the moment we did just that, you could see that the chances kept coming.
“The team, Nasarawa United, just got promoted, you need to see their fight in the first half. All we needed to do was to soak the pressure, and having done that, we came all out in the second half.”
It is not easy to play on neutral ground – coach Abdallah
Usman Abdallah, the technical adviser for Kano Pillars, has acknowledged that the team does not benefit from having home games outside of Sani Abacha Stadium.
Due to ongoing renovations at their home field, the Sai Masu Gida have decided to use Muhammad Dikko Stadium as a temporary home field for the 2024–2025 season.
On Sunday, Pillars defeated recently promoted Ikorodu City 3-0 to start their campaign on a winning note.
After the game, Abdallah said: “It’s never easy to play our first home game of the season away from home on neutral ground, but the boys showed incredible resiliency.”
See all 2024-2025 NPFL matchday 1 Results
Enugu Rangers Vs El-Kanemi Warriors
0-0
Heartland Vs Enyimba
1-3
Kwara United Vs Niger Tornadoes
1-2
Sunshine Stars Vs Bayelsa United
3-0
Bendel Insurance Vs Rivers United
0-0
Abia Warriors Vs Remo Stars
0-2
Plateau United Vs Katsina United
1-0
Nasarawa United Vs Shooting Stars
1-1
Kano Pillars Vs Ikorodu City
3-0
Lobi Stars Vs Akwa United
0-0
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