Bendel Insurance on Saturday at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City defeated Plateau United 2-1 in a Matchday 15 fixture of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL).
Uche Collins gave Bendel Insurance a deserved lead with a classy header in the seventh minute of the game. Collins completed the task set up by Julius Emiloju’s cross from the left flank.
In the 15th minute, Bendel Insurance playmaker Nnamdi Anthony failed to deal with a supposed easy clearance inside the box and fouled his opponent, resulting in a penalty kick for Plateau United.
Bendel Insurance survived the scare as the spot kick taken by Olawale Doyeni hit the woodwork to leave the score at 1-0 in favour of the home side.
The visitors’ efforts finally paid off in the 24th minute when Victor Dawa’s long-range strike was slightly deflected by Dennis Chigozie, beating Joshua Baba for Plateau United’s equalizer.
The timely equalizer however put Bendel Insurance on their toes as they fought hard to restore their lead but all their efforts did not yield any results till the halftime whistle.
On resumption of the second half, Bendel Insurance stepped up their game, imposing themselves on the visitors but several scoring chances were missed until the 66th minute when Isaac Annor’s free kick met a well-positioned Kayode Oke who swiftly nodded it into the back of the net to restore Insurance’s lead and winning goal.
The Benin Arsenals have a double away fixture to contend with as they face Akwa United and Heartland FC on Matchdays 16 and 17 at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo and Dan Anyiam Stadium in Owerri respectively.
Bendel Insurance head coach, Greg Ikhenoba expressed happiness after guiding his side to the full points and assured that the team will continue to battle on in a bid to move out of the drop zone.
“I’m happy that our efforts yielded the results we desired. The battle continues. We will continue to work hard. There is no weak opponent in Nigeria league anymore. We will get better,” Ikhenoba said.
Plateau United head coach, Mbwas Mangut, feels they deserved to take a result away from the contest despite putting their best foot forward. He said they will not change their attacking approach of trying to win matches.
“We approach every game with the mind set to win and we will continue to fight for better results next time,” Mangut said.
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