By Daily sports on March 15, 2021

Rivers United Football Club on Sunday held hosts FC IfeanyiUbah of Nnewi to a 0-0 draw in their Match Day 15 fixture in the 2020/2021 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL).

The action-packed encounter failed to produce any goal in spite of near-goal situations on both sides.

Nelson Etor missed a chance of putting the visiting Port Harcourt side in the lead in the second minute of the match with a narrow miss from Godwin Aguda’s pass.

In a post-match interview, Stanley Eguma, the Head Coach of Rivers United, said the hosts gave them a run for their money.

He said while the full three points would have been good for them, the single point secured in Nnewi was still valuable.

“We planned to win, but this is football. However, in a competitive league like the NPFL, one point is valuable,” Eguma said.

On his part, Uche Okagbue, the Coach of FC IfeanyiUbah, said he was disappointed with the outcome of the game as luck eluded his side.

He however said he would quickly put the game behind him and channel his energy to their midweek encounter with Akwa United in Uyo.

“I will say the God of soccer was not with us, because we did our best.

“As for our game against Akwa United, we are going to fight. We will work for a win or a draw in that match,” the coach said.

Elsewhere, Rangers International Football Club on Sunday in Enugu defeated visiting Adamawa United FC 1-0. The two teams played out a goalless first half in the match played at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, with hosts Rangers missing a lot of goalscoring chances.

Chinonso Eziekwe however calmed the nerves of the home team’s supporters in the 85th minute with the match’s lone goal.

Speaking after the match, Rangers’ Assistant Coach, Mangut Mbwas, appreciated the three points and noted that the club expected a difficult game against Adamawa United.

“Adamawa United are fighting to escape relegation and that was why they put everything into the game,” he said.

Mbwas said all three points in the league now matter a lot, but the match against Adamawa United has come and gone.

“We are going to do our best to ensure we pick the three points against Katsina United away on Match Day 16,” he said.

Eziekwe, on his part, thanked God for the victory and attributed the goal to team effort.

“I feel much happy at helping to secure the three points for my team and I had it in mind before coming into the game.

“It was a tough match for us because our opponents’ plan was to get a draw and they fought for it till the end.”

The result took Rangers FC to second spot on the NPFL log with 27 points from 15 matches.

Meanwhile, Sunshine Stars’ match against visiting Nasarawa United Football Club of Lafia in Akure could not be concluded on Sunday.

This was because the match referees did not come out after the half-time, after alleging he had been attacked in the dressing room by an official of the home club.

The match played at the Ondo State Sports Complex in Akure had ended 0-0 after the first half.

The centre referee, Joseph Ogabor, was quoted as saying there were threats to his life and his safety was not guaranteed.

NAN reports that the match’s other referees were Usman Isah, the First Assistant Referee, Francis Friday, the Second Assistant Referee, and Oloye Cosmas, the Fourth Official.

Efforts by officials of both teams to ensure the match continued proved abortive.

The officials and players of both teams had come out for the second half to restart the game, only for the match referees to refuse to come out to for the match.

However, an announcement was later made in the stadium that the match would resume for completion at 8 a.m. on Monday. (NAN)

•PHOTO: Rangers players celebrating a win

Source Daily sports

Posted March 15, 2021

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