Finidi urges Rivers to bounce back after tough draw

Rivers United coach Finidi George has urged his players to find their winning form again. This call comes after their winless streak reached four matches, following a 1-1 draw at home against Enugu Rangers in the Nigeria Premier Football League, according to PUNCH Sports Extra.

Chijioke Mbaoma scored for Rivers in the 17th minute, but Godwin Obaje equalized for Rangers in the 53rd minute. This result left Rivers with another disappointing home game.

This was Rivers’ second home draw in three games, as they also drew with Barau FC two weeks ago. This situation adds to their recent struggles.

The draw pushed Rivers down to third place in the league after 11 matches. They are now three points behind the leaders, Rangers, who still have a match to play.

After the game, Finidi asked his players to forget this result and focus on getting back the points they have lost recently. “We have to get back and get the players to recover. This one is gone; you can’t cry over spilt milk. We have to bounce back, go out and see how we can win. We have lost four points here; we have to get those four points back,” he said.

Finidi and his team will need to wait another week to start their recovery, as their match against Sporting Lagos, scheduled for Saturday, has been postponed indefinitely.

Next weekend, they will head to Ilorin to play against Kwara United. After that, they will return to Port Harcourt to host Niger Tornadoes.

This setback comes as Finidi enters his third season with Rivers. In his first two seasons, he narrowly missed out on the NPFL title.

Rivers finished as runners-up behind Remo Stars and Enugu Rangers in those seasons. They are determined to avoid another disappointing title race.

On top of their on-field issues, Rivers is also dealing with a problem off the field. The NPFL has raised concerns about the live broadcast of their match against Rangers.

The league accused Rivers of not allowing its broadcast partner, Murphy Ben International, to access the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium to cover the match. Rivers disputed this claim, saying they acted based on the broadcast schedule provided by the league.

The NPFL has since issued a suspended fine of N15m, along with a suspended deduction of three points and three goals. They also gave Rivers a formal final warning. These penalties will take effect if Rivers violate the league’s broadcasting rules again this season.