Fidelis Ilechukwu berates Plateau United defenders for Bendel Insurance defeat

Plateau United head coach Fidelis Ilechukwu has expressed sadness over his side’s inability to pick a point against Bendel Insurance FC in a Nigeria Premier Football League game at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City.

After a barren first half, the Peace Boys started the second on the back foot when Ismael Seriki broke the deadlock in the 53rth minute but Mustapha Abdullahi levelled matters from the spot in the 93rd minute.

With a crucial point on the horizon for Jos based outfit, Imade Osarenkhoe struck deep inside added time to dash their hope and Ilechukwu has berated the disappointing display by his defenders against the Benin Arsenal.

“It was a very bad for us here. Poor communications, poor organisations and poor reactions accounted for our misfortune here today, and it’s so painful that we’re going back empty handed after working so hard,” the former MFM coach told undilutednews.com.

“It is inexplicable to for us to equalize in the 91st minute against Bendel Insurance and they clinched the winner in the 93rd minute, with almost the last kick of the game. Organizing a defense line at such a critical time in a competitive game is key, but I don’t know how loss of concentration set in.

“They opted for zonal marking instead of one-on-one marking, which I’ve always told them has fatal consequences under such match situations. We’re already taking aggressive measures to ensure that we shore up our defense line going forward. We must ensure we work our way out of the current position we find ourselves,” he concluded.

The National U23 assistant coach will hope to remedy the situation when they welcome Enyimba FC of Aba on Sunday.