Cecilia Nku’s second-minute penalty was all Rivers Angels needed to win the 2019 Nigeria Women Premier League title against a very determined Confluence Queens side.
In a well attended final which had the Sports Minister Sunday Dare and Women Affairs Minister Mrs Pauline Tallen in attendance, the final lived up to its expectation as the fans were thrilled with entertaining football from both sides.
Precious Christopher briefly gave Confluence Queens hope in the 14th minute when her penalty hit the woodwork after Blessing Ezekiel handled the ball inside the 18-yard box.
The victory gave the Edwin Okon’s side their seventh title having won the league last in 2016.
An emotional Edwin Okon said after the game that he knew his side wouldn’t concede and scoring an early goal was important for them.
” We worked hard for this and deserve to win, Confluence Queens gave us a lot of fight, but we remained resolute and defended well. This victory means a lot to me and my players.
” I want to appreciate my players, the management of Rivers Angels and the state Government of Rivers State. It has indeed been a tedious and satisfying season. He concluded.
Meanwhile, Whyte Ogbonda who have failed to win Rivers Angels in three consecutive finals was unhappy with the result but promised to keep fighting.
” I am not happy with the result today, I thought we deserve a better result from what we got. We were unlucky to lose a penalty when we indeed needed to have scored. We go back to Lokoja with a heavy heart and definitely we won’t relent from this success we have recorded.
The winner of the 2019 Nigeria Women Premier League will go home with a sum of N3m and a one week tour to Spain as part of the Laliga/NWFL partnership deal.