HEAD coach of Bendel Insurance Football Club of Benin Monday Odigie is not saddened by the first defeat his team suffered in the hands of Gombe United on Sunday at the Pantami Stadium, Gombe in a week four of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) outing.
Odigie said he did not get the result he wanted in Gombe but appreciates the team spirit of the Benin Arsenals.
“No team plan to lose in any game. We came to Gombe, expecting good results but it didn’t happen. We are going back home to look at our weaknesses and mistakes and work on them ahead of our next match.
“All teams in the Nigeria Premier Football League be respected because there is no small team or pushovers. Today, we made a mistake and our opponents took advantage of it and that cost us the game.”
Meanwhile, Coach of Gombe United, Mohammed Babaganaru said he was very happy to beat the strongest team in the country. “I am very happy that our strategy worked.”
“Insurance has the best defence and they are very difficult to crack. I thank God we are able to break through today”, he added.
“We played against them last season and we couldn’t score against them. They are highly disciplined, with strong character. We planned seriously to break their unbeaten run because we all know the history Insurance created last season when they finished the abridged league without losing any match. Our team is getting better with the new approach and determination. I am proud of my boys.” Mohammed Babaganaru further said.
The match, which kicked off at 3:00 pm under the scorching sun at the Pantami Stadium in Gombe saw Ahmed Jimoh scoring the only goal of the match for Gombe United in the 52nd minute with a low drive which went beyond the reach of the Benin Arsenals goal tender Amas Obasogie into the right corner of the net.
The first half ended goalless, Insurance FC striker Sarki Ismael’s 40th-minute one-on-one shot that went wide would have put Insurance in front before the halftime break.
Insurance Manager in his search for an equalizer, made double substitutions in the 74th minute of the game with Austin Ogunye and Jude Ebhohon replacing Sarki Ismael and Paul Obata but the host defended the three points jealously to the end.
Insurance won their first two matches of the season that they played in Benin. They beat Shooting Stars 2-0 and defeated Plateau United 1-0 before Gombe United stopped their sweet run on Sunday 1-0.
Bendel Insurance FC will be at home against Akwa Utd on Saturday, 28 October at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin in the Match Day 5 fixture.
Results Of Weekend Matches
Sporting Lagos 1 Vs Remo Stars 2
Akwa United 0S Vs Shooting Stars 0
Kano Pillars 1 Vs Rivers United 0
Kwara United 1 Vs Enugu Rangers 1
Lobi Stars 2 Vs Abia Warriors 0
Plateau United 1 Vs Sunshine Stars 0
Heartland FC 1 Vs Katsina United 1
Gombe United 1 Vs Bendel Insurance 0
Niger Tornadoes 1 Vs Bayelsa United 0
What The Table Looks Like After Match Day 4 
Eighteen-Eleven Media