Enyimba recorded their second Oriental Derby win in the opening two fixtures of the 2021/2022 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) against rival Rangers International on Sunday.
Substitute Chukwuemeka Obioma scored in the 88th minute to hand Coach Finidi George his second NPFL victory in Nnewi, moving them to second on the league table with 6 points, same as leaders, Remo Stars.
Rangers Coach, Abdul Maikaba made one change to the side that earned victory in Katsina on Matchday 1.
Ifeanyi Nweke, Ugochukwu Ugwuoke and Chidiebere Nwobodo came close to scoring for the host, with Nweke and Chidiebere crashing the crossbar in a frenzy 10 minutes in the second half.
With the match dragging to a seeming scoreless encounter, substitute Obioma was fed by a gentle chip from Philip Ozor to beat his marker at the edge of the box and ran clear to slot the ball past on-rushing Bamidele Adeniyi for the only goal of the match.
Maikaba said his side was unlucky not to score after hitting the crossbar twice.
“Actually, it was a very good game, the two teams played very well but I believe we created more opportunities at goal but we were just unlucky not to have scored earlier.
“Not just one, not two, but about three times, the crossbar prevented a goal. Despite that, we have seen some grey areas where we have to go back and work more especially, our defending.”
Rangers will next travel to Ijebu-Ode to take on Sunshine Stars at their adopted home of Dipo Dina Stadium, Ijebu-Ode on Wednesday, December 29, 2021, in a Matchday 3 fixture.
NPFL MATCHDAY 2 RESULTS
Plateau United 1-0 Kwara United
Rangers Int’l 0-1 Enyimba Int’l
Abia Warriors 1-0 Sunshine Stars
Rivers United 3-0 Katsina United
Wikki Tourists 1-0 Niger Tornadoes
3SC 1-1 Akwa United
Remo Stars 3-0 Heartland FC
Dakkada FC 2-0 MFM FC
Nasarawa united 1-1 Gombe United
Kano Pillars 0-0 Lobi Stars
******
Copyright 2021 @ The Athletic NG. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to https://www.theathletic.com.ng/ as the source.
