A 32nd minute penalty converted by Ifeanyi Egwim gave Dolphins a 1-0 win over Rangers at the Port Harcourt Liberation Stadium on Wednesday.
Kalu Orji had handled the ball when Jonathan Zikiye whipped a cross into the box from the left and the referee wasted no time pointing to the spot before Egwim finished it off.
It as ahis second goal against his former club since he joined Dolphins from Rangers four seasons ago.
Stanley Eguma had kept faith with the team that played in Akure against Sunshine Stars on Sunday, making only one change- Jonathan Zikiye for Kingsley Ashu, and it seemed fatigue set in on the players towards the middle of the second half as the visitors completely dominated play.
This forced Dolphins to make three changes, Omoh Johnson for Ifeanyi Egwim who seemed injured, Tijani Adamu for Ayo Saka in the 70th minute and later, Hope Fiberesima for Chiwendu Ali.
Chigozie Agbim stopped Dolphins from making it 2-0 when he stretched full length to tip to safety a cross from Victor Alegbe that seemd to be going it, but after that it seemed one way traffic for the visitors.
Rangers had a chance to draw level in the last minute of added time when substitute, Emmanuel Eze beat the Dolphins’ offside trap and with just Sunday Rotimi to beat, he put the ball wide.
This win against Rangers is Dolphins first in the league since October 22, 2014 when they beat Nembe City 6-0 in Port Harcourt.
John Apollo, coach of Dolphins described it as a tough game, saying fatigue from the Sunshine game affected his players in the second half.
“Rangers were good but we came out victorious. We kept the bulk of the team from the Sunshine game for today to show we believe in them and hope we can get the from them by giving them more time together,” Apollo said.
Imama Amapakabor of Rangers said it was disappointing that his side have not scored a goal in their last three games but says they have a lot of rookie players in the team they must encourage
“We have been having a bad phase but this was a good and exciting game. We will continue to keep on pushing. We feel a bit disappointed but it’s a long season and we will continue to push it,” Imama said
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