FC Robo Queens of Lagos have already set their sight on winning this season’s Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) title and captain of the side, Chidinma Ogbuchi believes no opposition can stop them from achieving their target.
Ogbuchi declared as much in an exclusive chat with Sports247 moments after she and her colleagues nicked a 2-1 win against visiting Adamawa Queens of Lafia in a pulsating encounter, to record their second straight win in the new season.
Though the result was tighter than initially expected, as Robo had won their first match of the season 5-1 away to Benue Queens, Ogbuchi insisted her side were already in the title mood and predicted that they will get better with each passing game.
She however admitted it was a tough match and conceded that Robo Queens did not put their feet down from the word go, which allowed their visitors to keep the scoreline level until very late in the game, when the decisive goal eventually came in the nick of time.
Ogbuchi told Sports247: “It was a very challenging game; because they came all out and we didn’t start well. We didn’t get our act together at the beginning of the game until towards the ending, when we put in more effort, and we were able to get the winning goal.”
She went on to affirm that Coach Emmanuel Osahon’s girls will use the match as a learning point and build on the lessons they acquired from their surprisingly resilient opponents to adjust for a better title shot in their subsequent fixtures, ahead of which she would motivate them adequately.
Ogbuchi added, “I am very confident that we are capable of winning the league title. I am very confident in my players that we will all do well in our remaining matches.
The words we say affect players negatively or positively. That’s why I always encourage them with positive words. Positive talk is what matters. So, don’t use your words to bring your players down.”
She continued by pointing out that another lesson learnt from the 2-1 win over Adamawa Queens is that players have to keep fighting until the last whistle of every match, as a very late goal can make a lot of difference, as it did for her team in the NWFL matchday two encounter.
“I always keep cheering my team up, telling them the goal will come … it will surely come. That’s what happened in the dying minutes of this game, as the last goal came very late and we won the match.
That’s why we will go all out fully for our next game. Unlike this game, in which we were not composed at the start, in our next game, we will come out from the first whistle. Also, for our next game, we’ll try and improve on our goal scoring ability,” Ogbuchi affirmed.
It indeed was a tough game, as a 70th minute goal by Favour Nkwocha set the ball rolling for Robo’s recovery, after Tarfa Anastasia put the visitors into a shock lead with a 24th minute opener, and Opeyemi Ajakaiye sealed the hosts’ victory with a 90th minute sizzler.
