By Wale Mustapha
Enugu Rangers head coach Fidelis Ilechukwu has criticized his team’s performance following their 1-1 draw against Akwa United on Sunday.
The reigning Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) champions were held to a draw by struggling Akwa United in one of the Matchday 29 clashes in Enugu.
A second-half goal from Isaac Savior salvaged a point for the Flying Antelopes, who had been trailing for over an hour after Kabir Osoba’s sublime finish put Akwa United ahead.
Ilechukwu expressed his disappointment, attributing the result to his side’s failure to properly respect their relegation-threatened opponents.
“I think we did not put in our best in the first half, maybe due to Akwa United’s position on the log, and it nearly cost us the match,” Ilechukwu said in a statement to Rangers’ media.
“It is quite unfortunate that what we expected was not what we saw in the game. I feel my players underrated our opponent. This result is a very big setback to the team’s ambition.”
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. He began his career at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
