Rivers United chop one kind heartbreak with 2–1 loss for Uyo as RS Berkane knack dem for CAF Champions League Matchday 2.

Even though dem collect early goal from own goal, NPFL boys no fit hold body as Berkane score two quick wahala goals for stoppage time, na weytin hitvibz yan be dat

Rivers United Early Promise Wey Loss for Stoppage Time

After the match, coach Finidi George no even hide mouth. Baba vex well, blast him boys say their game management na pure “how?” for the dying minutes.

Finidi yarn say:

“I have to say a draw wouldn’t have been a good result for us, but the loss is devastating. I think the overall performance of my players deserves more than what the outcome of the game looked like. It is quite unfortunate that we lost today.”

Na that equaliser pain am pass as he explain:

“If you ask me, I would say I cannot explain because we had a free kick, and from our own free kick, they got their own free kick, and that was how they got the equaliser. You all saw the second goal; we were taking off from the middle, and a striker would run from the middle and have a block and score the goal. So it is quite unfortunate that in that extra minute, it is the players’ management; I’ll put it that way.”

Finidi come drop old-school advice like person wey don see ball tire:

“If I were playing that game, I would have tried to kick it towards the corner flag so that whatever happens there, you have all the players behind the ball. But it is quite unfortunate; the player lost the ball there, and they had that counter, and then we had to foul them from that moment, they got their goal.”

Substitutions and Player Performance

For the changes wey he make, Finidi talk say him no believe say na the subs spoil anything:

“No, I don’t think so. I felt we took off the striker because he was not pressing anymore, and the two centre-backs were always free, and that became a problem for us; they were pushing us back. So we wanted them to kick long. That is why we brought in a fresh midfielder, and to help Timothy that we brought in for Obi, we had to push Timothy from the wing to number nine.”

He add small football wisdom join:

“It was going well; we also had another chance to have scored. So if you look at football, sometimes you don’t know what is going to happen. If we had scored a second goal and we won, everything would have been fantastic; everything would have been easy. Now that we lost, it looks as if the changes were bad.”

But baba still hail him squad for their season grind:

“They have been fantastic all through the season. The first goal that they scored against us was a terrible mistake.”

Reflections on Strikers and Squad Quality

As dem ask am about strikers and forward firepower, Finidi no sugarcoat anything:

“This is my fifth season in the NPFL. If you talk about strikers, this is what we have. We can’t manufacture them from anywhere unless you want to go elsewhere and acquire strikers. What we have is what we have. We have to go with that.”

He come yarn small about wingers and positioning palava:

“Talking about wingers, it’s quite difficult. We work with these players. We work with them day in, day out. For me, I was not. If you don’t know, for those that know me very well, I was not a wing player. I was a midfielder when I started. So, I was pushed to the side. Everything worked out well for me.”

Despite the wahala ending, Finidi still reason the whole picture:

“The goals took away the good things the players did today. That lack of management in several minutes cost us the match. If you want to look at the game, the total performance of the players, I think we did well.”

Looking Ahead for di CAF Champions League

Finidi still get hope say Rivers United go show face for Group A:

“We will compete. Today, I think we did well. We have to look at the positives and see how we can, by January, see how we can; maybe we can get some signings and then fortify the team, see where we are lacking players and try to be better in that aspect. The game management – that’s up to the players.”

He come drop final street-level coaching tip:

“There’s nothing we can do. We always tell them, use the wings; take the ball to the corners. Keep the ball there. It’s not time-wasting. It’s still part of the game, but you’re keeping the ball while time is ticking.”

Rivers United go now try bounce back as Matchday 3 for January 2026 dey wait against Power Dynamos, and NPFL duty go continue against Kano Pillars.

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Last Updated on November 30, 2025 6:40 am by Hitvibz Media