By Wale Mustapha
Bayelsa United handed Rivers United their first defeat of the 2024/25 Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) season with a surprise 2–1 win in a rescheduled Matchday 8 encounter on Monday morning.
The highly anticipated South-South derby, initially slated for Sunday, was postponed due to a heavy downpour at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium in Port Harcourt.
Shuaibu Garba opened the scoring for the visitors in the 28th minute, reacting quickest to a rebound to give Bayelsa United a first-half lead.
Substitute Chinedu Emmanuel extended the advantage in the 71st minute, making it 2–0 and placing the hosts under pressure.
Rivers United’s Stephan Manyo pulled one back deep into stoppage time, but it proved too little, too late, as Bayelsa held on for a famous win.
The defeat ends Rivers United’s unbeaten run after six games and drops them to fourth on the log with 12 points from seven matches.
Bayelsa United, with their second win of the campaign, climbed to 11th place, collecting 11 points from eight games.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. On the back of domestic engagement since 2008, he began his international career journey 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.
