Enyimba head coach Finidi George was pleased to see his team beat Lobi Stars at the ongoing Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) Championship Playoffs on Monday but questioned the scheduling of his side’s games, www.aclsports.com reports.
Enyimba secured their first win of the Championship Playoffs via a gritty 1-0 win over Lobi Stars at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan courtesy of Emeka Obioma’s 16th-minute goal.
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While speaking after the game, Finidi George was visibly disturbed about the time schedule, but went on to praise his boys for a brave display to secure the win.
“I am very happy with the result, In the last game we got a draw which I think we should have won but it didn’t happen. Today it was a difficult game – energy sapping and when you play by 2pm it is not easy, it is very demanding for the players. I think at the end of the day we deserve the three points even though it is one goal but the defenders did a solid job,” Finidi George said in his post-match interview.
“We don’t make the rules when the draws came out and we found ourselves playing three games by two o’clock. It is very demanding I must say you can see I didn’t play, but I’m sweating. Really thirsty to drink water, but we must commend Lobi Stars as well even though we won the match, it is not easy and our next game is two o’clock again.
With the knowledge of the hectic schedule at hand, Finidi George spoke about the changes he made in order to secure the win against the Makurdi side.
“Everyone we brought here can play we had a couple of friendly matches to test the players. We will not just change the whole team, we will gradually give players minutes and see how we can get to the fifth game. We will come out to give our best in the next game, I know if the boys give their best the victory will be ours,” Finidi George concluded.
Enyimba is currently top of the log alongside Rivers United and will face Bendel Insurance in another early kick-off game on Wednesday at the same venue.
