Plateau United coach Gbenga Ogunbote has said his team lost control after they took the lead in their 3-2 loss to Sporting Lagos on Sunday in the Nigeria Premier Football League match in Jos.
The defeat at the New Jos Stadium ended Plateau United's perfect home record this season. They had won their previous four matches at home.
Sporting Lagos scored first through Aliyu Baba in the 10th minute. But Victor Dawa netted two goals to put Plateau United in the lead at 2-1 by half-time.
Victor Samuel equalised for Sporting Lagos in the 53rd minute. Then, Plateau United was reduced to 10 men after Alex Aghahowa was sent off late in the game.
Sporting Lagos took advantage of having an extra player. Jacob Aondona scored the winning goal in the 82nd minute to complete their comeback.
After the match, Ogunbote dismissed claims that his players were complacent. He admitted that losing their lead was costly for the team. "I think it was a difficult one for us. I won’t say complacency because the boys put in their very best. Unfortunately, we gave up the lead and things fell apart," he said.
He added, "The only thing is that we had a bad day, but we will take the positives from it to tell us that it’s a lesson for us to brace up."
Ogunbote also praised Sporting Lagos for their strong performance. He recognized that the visitors took their chances when it mattered most.
He described the defeat as a timely wake-up call. He said his players needed to understand that they still had a lot of work to do despite their good start to the season.
The result pushed Sporting Lagos to third place with 15 points. Plateau United dropped to fourth place with 14 points.
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