By Wale Mustapha
Rivers United’s Technical Adviser, George Finidi, was full of praise for his side after they secured a historic 2-1 win over Elkanemi Warriors in Maiduguri on Sunday.
The victory marked the first time this season that a team had defeated the Borno Army on their home turf, a milestone that Finidi was understandably pleased with.
While acknowledging the challenges posed by the weather, Finidi expressed satisfaction with how his team overcame the adversity.
“I’m quite happy with the victory. It was a difficult game, especially in the first half,” Finidi said.
“The conditions were tough, playing at 3 p.m. under the hot sun. But in the second half, as the temperature dropped slightly, we settled into our rhythm and scored two good goals.”
He added, “We could have scored more. At one point, I felt we should have communicated better to keep the 2-0 lead, but conceding that late goal was frustrating for me as a coach.
“We’re looking for goals at this stage, and giving away such a cheap goal was disappointing. But overall, we deserved the win.”
The result further solidified Rivers United’s second-place standing on the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) table with 49 points. They will next face Ikorodu City 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.
