Rivers United fell 3-1 to Kwara United in a Nigeria Premier Football League Matchday 37 tie at the Kwara Stadium in Ilorin on Sunday. Despite the loss, technical manager/head coach, Finidi George, expressed satisfaction with the team’s achievement of securing a continental ticket for the next season.
“We are still in a good place,” Finidi George said at the post-match conference. “We have our last home match, and if we win that one, we will get that second place. It’s unfortunate we conceded three goals, but I felt a draw would have been a good result. They created those chances and got the goals, making it difficult for us to come back.”
George attributed the team’s slow start to a lack of intensity in the first 25 minutes.
“That’s football for you, when you expect to play with that intensity, today it wasn’t there,” he explained. “A little bit sloppy, but we’ll go back, analyze our performance and come back stronger next season.”
On meeting the team’s target for the season, George stated: “The aim is to get a continental ticket, and it’s all playing out. We didn’t say we were going to win the league, but we achieved our goal. We’ll be happy with how the season went and look forward to next season.”
Rivers United will host Nasarawa United on May 25, and a victory will guarantee second spot and a CAF Champions League ticket for the next season.
George concluded by congratulating this season’s champions, Remo Stars and assured of a stronger outing next season.
“Congratulations to Remo Stars on their league title. We’ll come back stronger next season,” George said.