Makinwa, Garba blame fatigue as Gombe United, hosts ABS FC draw 1-1
NAN-S-25
Blame
By Olayinka Owolewa
Ilorin, March 29, 2017 (NAN) A spirited 10-man Gombe United Football Club fought back in the second half to force hosts Abubakar Bukola Saraki (ABS) FC to a 1-1 draw on Wednesday in Ilorin.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Match Day 16 fixture in the 2016/2017 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) was played at the Kwara Stadium Complex.
The hosts were the better side for some early parts of the encounter but were wasteful in front of goal.
With just four minutes left on the clock before the end of the first stanza, Chigozirim Metu capitalised on the visiting goalkeeper’s error to score for the hosts.
Joseph Onwugu, who thought he had a grip on the ball, allowed the ball to slip away from his gloves for Metu to waste no time in taking advantage.
Austine Oladapo was sent off with just a minute left in injury time of the first half to reduce the visitors to 10 men and give the hosts a seeming advantage.
But Gombe United returned for the second half to show a better understanding of coach Manu Garba’s half-time team talk.
Mannir Ubale equalised for the Savannah Scorpions in the 54th minute when he snatched the ball from home goalkeeper Abdullahi Boje who had attempted to dribble him.
Boje had received a back pass from one of his defenders, but the goalkeeper who is fond of dribbling attackers ran out of luck this time around.
Speaking after the match, coach Henry Makinwa of ABS FC said fatigue and the cumulative effect of what happened in Jos on Sunday affected his boys.
“We don’t like what happened today, and we were afraid of what happened in Jos (where we lost massively to Plateau United).
“It was mental fatigue. We traveled 18 hours to return to Ilorin and we couldn’t train well yesterday because of the long journey.
“But that is football for you. You win some, you lose some. Remember, we are yet to lose at home.
“However, I accept everything today because we drew against a very good team,” Makinwa said.
Also speaking, his Gombe United counterpart, Manu Garba, corroborated the view shared by Makinwa that fatigue affected both sides.
“I give thanks to God for the away point. But we came here to win because we had drawn three games at home.
“However, I must point out that the weekend-midweek routine of matches is affecting us. Fatigue is telling on the players.
“You cannot blame the players at times. We took off from Gombe and made over 15 hours of journey to this place.
“I want to improve the team every time, but with patience we will get there.
“The ABS FC team I saw in the NNL Super Four some months ago played better football than these set of players,” Garba said.
NAN reports that ABS FC’s next match is in Umuahia against Abia Warriors FC on Sunday for their Match Day 17 fixture.(NAN)
OOH/OLAL
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)