By George Akpayen
Kennedy Boboye needed 33 calendar days and five matches in the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) to finally claim his first win since taking charge at Bendel Insurance on October 21 this year.
Boboye however had to watch in animated mood on the sidelines as his men dug deep to earn him his first full points with the Benin Arsenals in a nervy 3-2 win over bottom-placed Kano Pillars in Saturday’s only fixture in Nigeria’s top division at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City.
The former Plateau United manager and his Kano Pillars counterpart, Mohammed Baba Ganaru began the matchweek in bottom-two places and interesting both of them prior to Saturday’s meeting were yet to win any game since taking up appointments as head coach of their respective clubs.
Boboye was on a run of four winless matches (D3 L1) while Baba Ganaru, brought in to help Kano Pillars out of danger in late October, had managed to take a point out of nine (D1 L2).
It all began on a good note for Boboye’s team when Kayode Oke handed them the lead on 17 minutes in this early relegation six-pointer in the season and it was all looking like a familiar story for the Sai Masu Gida who have struggled to make any sort of impact in the early stages of this campaign.
But in five crazy minutes before halftime, Kano Pillars found themselves in front despite the soggy condition of the Benin City stadium following heavy rain.
Rabiu Ali levelled the score from the spot on 34 minutes before Chiedozie Okorie’s brilliant strike handed Kano Pillars the lead four minutes to the shock of the home side’s bench and supporters. At the break, Boboye and his men trailed and it looked like the game had slipped out of their hands.
At the start of the second half, the rain had subsided and Bendel Insurance swung into the action and pinned Kano Pillars in their half for most of the early parts of the restart.
The pressure paid off 15 minutes to time when Emmanuel Dung fired Bendel Insurance back into the contest from inside the box to draw them level at 2-2.
Kano Pillars at this point were sixes and sevens after Baba Ganaru had made changes in a bid to protect his side’s one-goal lead including yanking off Rabiu Ali for a more defensive Habibu Yakubu in one of his substitutions.
Two minutes to time, Bendel Insurance regained the lead. Emmanuel Akpan waltzed his way past his marker on the left channel and his cross-cum-shot was turned into the net by a Kano Pillars player for an own goal.
The subdued reaction of the Kano Pillars players and their bench captured the story of another bad day in the office for Sai Masu Gida who remain rooted to the bottom of the NPFL standings.
Bendel Insurance, on the other hand, climb out of the bottom-two but remain within danger of the last four on the table.
Matchday 13 of the NPFL continues on Sunday and Monday with eight more matches as the clash between Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC) and Remo Stars has been postponed owing to the former’s ground being used for the PDP convention.