By Wale Mustapha
Enugu Rangers’ Technical Adviser, Fidelis Ilechukwu, expressed his team’s disappointment after suffering a 2-1 defeat to bitter rivals Enyimba FC in Sunday’s oriental derby.
The match, played at the Nnamdi Azikwe Stadium in Enugu, saw Enyimba take control with two first-half goals from Innocent Gabriel and Ekene Awazie.
Rangers managed to pull one back in the second half through Chidozie Okolie, but it proved to be a mere consolation.
Ilechukwu was visibly upset by the result, attributing the loss to his side’s failure to convert several chances.
“It was not the result we wanted, but football showed itself again,” Ilechukwu said in a post-match interview.
“We had a poor first half, conceding two goals, but we came back stronger in the second half.
“We got one goal back, but we couldn’t convert more of the chances we created. It’s a painful loss, and we grieve over it,” he added.
With the defeat, Rangers dropped to eighth place in the NPFL standings with 49 points from 35 matches.
The Flying Antelopes will look to bounce back when they face Rivers United in their next league encounter in Port Harcourt.
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.
