Bendel Insurance Football Club of Benin City, Saturday, December 21, defeated Lobi Stars of Makurdi 1-0 to temporarily move out of the relegation zone of the Nigeria Premier Football League(NPFL).
It was a hard-earned victory for the Benin Arsenals as their midfielder Isaac Annor scored the only goal of the match in the 83rd minute at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium.
The first half of the Match Day 18 had ended in a goalless situation with the visitors from Makurdi making things difficult for the hosts who are in dire need of the maximum points.
The Chief Coach of Bendel Insurance, Greg Ikhenoba, who was visibly not comfortable with the situation quickly effected some changes, bringing in Moses Ajiboye and Oronsaye James for Uche Collins and Michael Enaruna in the 60th minute of play which swiftly raised the tempo of the game with Insurance having better possessions and control of the game. Their efforts paid off when Nnamdi Anthony flicked Julius Emiloju’s pullout to the well positioned Isaac Annor who did not waste time in blasting in a classy shot to silence the roaring Lobi side.
The Benin Arsenals went into the match day 18 game with confidence having returned from double away matches with a point from Akwa Utd and Heartland FC of Owerri in the match day 16 and 17 respectively. They now have 20 points and have moved up the ladder to the 16th position on the log.
Speaking during the post match interview, Coach Ikhenoba said that his team will now shift their focus on the preparation for Enyimba in Aba on December 29. He ascribed the results in the last three games to God. He expressed confidence that his team will fully recover in the second round of the league.
“I give God the glory in all that I do and I thank God for the victory. It was very important for us to get the three points and I am happy that the boys delivered it to us. We expected a difficult game because I know Lobi players are physical. I have watched them before. That was why I made a double substitution to bring in Oronsaye and Ajiboye and thank God that our tactical switch worked.”
Lobi Stars Chief Coach, Mikel Armstrong, on the other hand said that they did something different from what they have been doing on away games which worked for his side in the first half but expressed his disappointment that his boys were overpowered by Insurance in the second half.
Meanwhile, the victorious Bendel Insurance players have dedicated their hard-earned 1-0 victory over Lobi Stars to the Chairman, Edo State Sports Commission, Hon. Desmond Amadin Enabulele. The Captain of Bendel Insurance, Efe Enabulele, made the disclosure after the game while celebrating at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium. He said that the coming of the youthful and sports loving chairman to see the team during their training, including the monetized gift he gave them on Thursday served as a motivation.
“We dedicate the victory to our new chairman. He deserves it. He is a lucky man too. The game was more difficult than we expected. During our chairman’s visit, he appealed to us to welcome him to the Edo State Sports Commission with victory and the victory is already at hand. So, we have given it to him. Congratulations to our chairman,” Efe said.
Discussion about this post