Remo Stars Ladies of Ikenne might be in for a huge shock when they play at home on matchday five of the ongoing Nigerian Women Football League (NWFL) season, as their opponents, Abia Angels of Umuahia, have set in motion a bold plan to win the game.
Sports247 reports that the audacious plan was disclosed in a stunning declaration by Abia Angels’ coach, Adanna Nwaneri, who boasted that her team has improved so much and to an extent that they will not lose any other match this season in the NWFL.
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Coach Nwaneri pointed out that a 3-0 spanking of Confluence Queens of Lokoja by her team this week is a confirmation of their intentions for the remaining part of the campaign.
Nwaneri retorted gleefully, “In football, every day you have to improve; and I saw a different game this time out. What we played was an improvement from our last match, and I’m so excited. I believe that every match brings an improvement, and it shall surely come.”
Nwaneri then singled out her team’s hat-trick heroine, Lucky Mary for a job well done, not only because of her three goals, but also due to how she effectively played the part of a decoy in the midst of several Confluence Queens’ players that kept on milling round her throughout the game.
Nwaneri expatiated, “I’m very, very happy for her (Lucky Mary) because she was able to deliver this time. She could not score in our previous three matches because, once she holds the ball, three or four people will be on her. So, I told her, ‘Today is your day. I know you have that speed to overcome them.’ She was then able to use her ability in this match.
“The tactical aspect also helped her, and she used it very well. That’s why you saw those three goals come from her. My technical assistants then told me to bring her out, but I told them I knew what I wanted. With her there, three or four of the opponents will be on her. If she leaves, we would start having problems. So, I said, ‘Let her remain there, so that we can finish off very well,’ and it worked.”
She then turned her focus on the next game, which will come up away to Remo Stars Ladies in Ikenne, and Nwaneri stressed that it is one encounter she believes her side will not lose, affirming that they will go with extra determination to win the fixture away in the countryside of Ogun State.
“Seriously, for our next match, I am not expecting anything that is worse than a draw in their home. We are not going there to lose. The way we played away to Heartland, we are going to play more than that. We have decided as a team that, after losing to Edo Queens, we will not lose any other match again this season. What happened against Edo Queens was just a case of phobia.
“There was the fear of playing against the defending champions, a team that went to CAF and came back with pride. Fear entered into my players, but I told them football is all about 90 minutes, and I built confidence into them. I said, ‘Go there and play. They are people like you.’
“Since then, they have been improving every day. Sometimes, there will be tension. Like what we saw from our central defender in this match that we won 4-0. It’s part of the game. But, as a coach, I just have to talk to them, and I encourage them. I talk to them, and I am happy when I see changes that show improvements in them,” Nwaneri posited.
