Akinade Onigbinde poised to build on Doma United success in NPFL debut season

By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde

After missing out on the 2022/2023 Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) Championship Playoff on the last game of the regular season, technical adviser of Doma United, Akinade Onigbinde believes the team can build on the success of last season ahead of the 2023/2024 campaign.

The Gombe-based privately owned team played its debut season in the top-flight last season and put up a wonderful display and the Savannah Tigers gaffer wasn’t satisfied with their outing amid fantastic results against top sides.

“I will be honest with you. I am not satisfied with what we got in the end because even as we finished in a decent position on the table, our aim was to reach the Championship Play-Off and advertise Doma United to the whole world,” Onigbinde told Trust Sport.

“In all, I thank God almighty because it was our debut season in the top flight but we gave our more formidable opponents a run for their money. We are going to build on this solid foundation for more successes next season.

“I will say we were derailed in our last home match. We put in everything in the match against Enugu Rangers but ended with a draw which was due to circumstances beyond our control.

“That was a major setback and we failed to recover from it. Honestly after that match, we still believed we would pick at least a draw away but that didn’t happen. Had we won against Rangers, we would have been picked one of the Championship Play-Off tickets in our group.

“So, the circumstances for me were the absence of our two key strikers and questionable officiating. One of our leading strikers, Charles Chubuike, had accumulated five yellow cards and was ruled out of the match. Our other striker was out with injury. So, in the course of the match, we created chances that weren’t converted.

“Then we suffered bad officiating. We had the ball across the goal line but the goal was not given and toward the end of the match, the captain of Rangers committed a handball in the box but we were denied what was a penalty kick. These were some of the circumstances beyond us.

“I will say when we lost to Rivers United in Port-Harcourt, we realised it was all over for us. Had it been we picked at least a point at Rivers United, we would have remained in the race and another point at Abia Warriors would have sealed a Championship Play-Off ticket for us.

“This is why the boys didn’t put in their best in the last match against Abia Warriors. Everybody’s spirit became so low. But like I said, we are proud of what we were able to achieve.”

Onigbinde says the team aims to strengthen the squad with experienced players to beef up the club ahead of next season.

“We have to continue from where we stopped in our first season in the NPFL. Already we have done a technical review of our performance and have agreed on the need to strengthen the team in some areas,” he continued.

“There is no perfect team so we want to bring in some strikers, midfielders and defenders. With the support of our proprietor, we would present a more formidable squad next season.

“We are doing everything possible to keep all our key players but I don’t think we would attempt to stop anyone who is bent on leaving the club. Once the laid down procedures are followed, we won’t have any problem. But we would be happy to keep these players because of the existing understanding among them.

“If we keep the bulk of the players, our work as coaches would be made easier in the coming season. And considering the motivation we have enjoyed from our proprietor, I don’t think any player will leave just for the sake of leaving.”

Doma United finished the 2022/2023 NPFL season in fifth position from Group B with 26 points, a point, and two places below the Championship Playoff positions.