Remo Stars of Ikenne coach, Daniel Ogunmodede has turned his attention on how to overcome Rangers International of Enugu in a potentially explosive fixture next weekend, but he refused to predict victory for his side, sports247.ng reports.
Rather than state categorically that he would gun for all the maximum points at Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium in Enugu, Ogunmodede stressed that he will only prepare his squad well and see what happens during the match.
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However, the tall tactician, who recently doubled as an assistant coach in the Super Eagles, reckoned that the lesson he and his players learnt from their 2-1 win over visiting Kano Pillars this weekend will come in handy to help them battle Rangers to a standstill.
Sports247.ng reports that Remo Stars were stretched to the limit by their visitors from Kano, who netted a cliffhanger consolation goal in eight minutes of first half added time and fought hard to equalise.
That was after Sikiru Alimi put the hosts ahead in the fifth minute, and Babawo Abubakar made it two in the 40th, but Ogunmodede admitted it was not a smooth evening for his team, who stay top of the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) table with 48 points, while Sai Masu Gida are 13th with 29 points.
Ogunmodede conceded, “It was a difficult match for us, because we played against a team with a very massive reputation in the league. They are the best team in the North and one of the best in the country, based on their achievements. In their last three games, they had not won a match, so they came with an ambition to get something that would compensate for their hard times. That made it a very difficult match for us.”
Ogunmodede then parried suggestions that his players took the match for granted, as they were playing at home and at a point in which they are top of NPFL log with a wide points margin on their nearest challenger, saying instead it was due to huge determination of the part of their visitors.
He recalled, “We scored early but, along the line, we struggled a lot in the game. For me, it’s one of those days in football. We sometimes get games that go like this, but you still need to get maximum points, and that’s the character the team showed. We didn’t play to our best, but, nonetheless, we are happy that we got the maximum points.”
He then spoke about the next game, which comes up in The Coal City next Sunday against The Flying Antelopes, but refused to state whether his team would emerge unscathed from The Cathedral, as they take on the defending champions, who are currently fifth on the log with 24 points.
“No game is difficult, and no game is simple before we play it. It only depends on what we come across during the game itself. Some games you preempt are going to be difficult, but they come out cheap. Some games you think are going to be cheap, they become so difficult.
“A moment in the game can be a decider of the result, and that was what happened in this match (versus Kano Pillars). It really doesn’t matter the team we are playing against; a key moment in the game is what counts. All we’ll do is to prepare as a team, and we just hope we’ll get it right,” Ogunmodede submitted.
