RAMPANT RIVERS ANGELS TRASH EDO QUEENS TO MOVE TOP OF THE TABLE

Rivers Angels of Port Harcourt came from behind to trash visiting Edo Queens 4-1 in a match day 13 of the Nigeria Women Football League at the Liberation stadium today.

Ibinabo Georgewill had given the visitors an early lead in the 2nd minute but Ugo Njoku slotted in the equalizer in the 21st minute before Iroka Glory made it 2-1 going into half time.

The 2014 NWFL champions didn’t stop there as Amarachi Ojinma raised the tally to 3-1 in the 58th minute from an Iroka Glory assist and Juliet Bassey registered her first goal of the season as she volleyed in a cross from Cecilia Nku to make it 4-1 in the 81st minute.

After the game, head coach of the Port Harcourt side, Edwin Okon expressed his delight.

“I am happy, at least we secured the 3 points and not only the 3 points, the number of goals, this is the only place you can come and see good officiating, Rivers state. I said it anywhere or Abuja, that is the only two places you can go and get good officiating, aside from that, win at all cost” Okon said.

I lost to them at their home because of the syndrome of win at all cost, win at home but you can see today we had how many penalties, and the referee said because we’re winning, so am grateful at least we’re on top of the league and we hope of maintaining till end of the season” he added.

Rivers Angels

Meanwhile Angels forward, Juliet Bassey who registered her first goal of the season could not hide her excitement.

“I feel very happy because it’s been long like am very very happy but all thanks goes to the Lord because its only him so am very very happy, I intend to score more goals but I don’t know how many but with God all things are possible” said Juliet.

On his part, head coach of Edo Queens, Kenneth Aigbe said he would go back to the drawing board on work on his teams’ errors.

“It’s a good game, it’s a good standard you could see some errors that happened in the course of play that one has to go home to work out so that by the next game we’ll step it up, Rivers Angels is not a small team and we equally, we’re not a small team, it’s a good game, they played well and with the standard of the referee, am highly impressed, the referee did very well just silly mistakes and all that which happens everywhere in football” stated Aigbe.

Rivers Angels now top group B with 25 points and will next play Nasarawa Amazons on August 29 in a rescheduled week 11 game.

In other centers we have:

Group A

Confluence Queens 1-0 Ibom Angels

FC Robo 2-0 Osun Babes

Bayels Queens 7-0 Martin White Doves

Group B

Rivers Angels 4-1 Edo Queens

Nasarawa Amazons 1-1 COD Ladies

Pelican Stars 3-0 Capital City Dove (w/o)

Taraba Queens 0-0 Sunshine Queens

UGO, EFFIOM: WE’LL STOP CONFLUENCE IN 90 MINUTES

Rivers Angels Right back, Ugo Njoku and Left back, Mabel Effiom are confident the six times Women Federation Cup Champions will emerge victors in the quarter final clash of the oldest football competition tomorrow.

The last year’s champions will be bidding for a place in the semifinals as they take on Kogi based Confluence Queens at the Nnamdi Azikiwe stadium in Enugu by 3pm.

Njoku in a chat with the club’s media officer said the team will ensure to get the job done in regulation time.

“I promise Rivers State a total victory of tomorrow because Kogi Confluence is not a push over team and also we’re a good side and also they are also good side, so tomorrow’s game , 90 minutes will decide” Ugo said.

“We’re not going to a penalty shootout anymore because our girls, everybody is ready because we’re going all out, full force to the game, we’re not scared of any team in this country, we are equal to the task” she added.

Former Rivers Angels forward, Lola Philips will be reuniting with the team for the first time since joining the Kogi based team and left back Mabel Effiom says her presence is no threat to the team.

“What I hope for tomorrow’s game is we’ll come out with victory and our defense will do very very well because I believe that God will surely help us come out with victory”

“In terms of marking, we’ll do our possible best to stop her, so her own case is never our problem, so we’ll do our possible best to make sure that we keep our net safe from goals” said Effiom.

Ugo Njoku

In other quarter final games tomorrow, we have

Edo Queens Vs Bayelsa Queens (Neros) – 3pm

Osun Queens Vs Nasarawa Amazons (Benin) – 3pm

FC Robo Vs Sunshine Queens (Oleh) – 3pm

RIVERS ANGELS CROWNED CHAMPIONS OF THE 2013/2014 NIGERIA WOMEN PREMIER LEAGUE SEASON

Back to back Federations Cup champions Rivers Angels secured a second title in four days as they clinched the Nigeria Women Premier League title on Wednesday.

Angels secured only their second away win of the season by beating Edo Queens 3-1 at the Samuel Ogbemudia stadium, Benin.

And just like the Cup final in Lagos on Sunday, Golden girl of Nigerian Women Football, Asisat Oshoala was at the centre of the team’s success.

Asisat Oshoala Going for Goal against sunshine stars of Akure During the Finals of the Fed Cup 2014

Oshoala continued her superb form as she opened scores in the first minute of the game. Thirty minutes later, the newly crowned Nigerian Women’s Footballer of the year added another when she pounced on a cross from the Angels right full back, Ugo Njoku to extend the visitors lead.

Hosts Edo Queens pulled a goal back nine minutes before the break after Angels goalkeeper, Ibubeleye Whyte misjudged a cross from a corner.

The second half started brightly from both sides but the Fed Cup winners were guilty of missing chances with the worst culprit being Oshoala who ultimately failed to complete her hattrick on the day.

Rivers Angels’ momentum faded as the game wore on as they lost dominance to the home side who took charge of the second period.

However, With 3 minutes to the end of regulation time, Edo Queens conceded a corner and set piece specialist, Ngozi Ebere sealed the victory with the third goal and her seventh goal of the season after she took a short corner to Aminat Yakubu who returned the pass to Ebere, allowing her curl the ball beyond the despairing hands of U-17 Fifa Women’s World Cup goal keeper, Onyinyechi Okeke.

The Rivers state government sponsored Angels by the virtue of the victory thus secured the league title after amassing a total of 39 points, three more than Pelican Stars of Calabar who stole into second place after a 1-0 win over last season’s league champions, Nasarawa Amazons.

Full Results

Ibom Angels 2-0 Sunshine Queens

Pelican Stars 1-0 Nasarawa Amazons

Delta Queens 0-0 bayelsa Queens

Edo Queens 1-3 Rivers Angels

Taraba Queens 3-0 Osun Babes

Rivers Angels coach, Edwin Okon was excited with the win.

Rivers Angels Coach Edwin Okon

“For the past four, or five seasons we are always in the Fa Cup finals, league finals, and we always lose in the finals of the league but we always win the Fa Cup that s why we have won it for 5 times but in the league in the last match like this, we sleep off that’s why you saw me throughout the game on the touch line like a mad man because I don’t want what happened in the previous years to happen today. The winning mentality is there so I think they tried it’s okay, I think am the happiest person today, said okon.”

Coach of Edo Queens Keneth Aigbeyi laments lack of pay for team as reason for defeat but credits Angels.

“It is a fair victory it is a good game both teams played well, But in football you know it is either it ends in a draw or one side wins and they have good motivation that is carrying them. We had to push our players out to play today if not that, they won’t have come out because it is been like 11 months with no salaries, we just have to force them to come out a lot of them have not been training, said Aigbeyi.”

RIVERS ANGELS REMAIN ON TOP AFTER HOME WIN

Rivers Angels recorded an emphatic win over Osun Babes to take a firm grip on top spot in one of the Week 6 games in the Nigeria Women’s Premier League (NWPL) decided at the Liberation Stadium, Port Harcourt.

The home team took an early lead in 3rd minute courtesy of returning Flamingoes striker, Cynthia Aku’s header off a pass from Ugo Njoku.

Angels doubled their lead in the 37th minute, through a good effort from the Cameroon import, Arique Beyere from the left flank which caught the Osun Babes goalkeeper, Ohiaderiaku Christy off guard and into the net.

Rivers Angels continued their dominance as another former Under-17 star Loveth Ayila added a 3rd goal from close range with the assist by Stella Mbachu.

However, Aghogho Williams pulled a goal back for Osun Babes in the 44th minute pouncing on a defensive blunder, but the effort was not good enough to ruffle the hosts as Angels added more woes to the visitors in the 54th minute with a goal from Ghanaian born midfielder Elizabeth Addo who was a second half substitute while Asisat Oshoala round off the scoring in the 73rd minute for a commanding result.

The only stain in a near-flawless performance by Rivers Angels was conceding the first goal after 3 home games .They remain on top though with 14 points from 6 games.

In his post reaction, Assistant coach of Rivers Angels, White Ogbonda expressed happiness with the result.

“My target was to score 8 goals, though my girls did not utilize their chances but Osun Babes cannot be compared to my team, said Ogbonda”.

”This victory gives us 14 points and about 7 goals ahead of other teams, he said”.

Coach of Osun Babes, Kehinde Johnson was however disappointed with the outcome.

“We lost concentration in this game. My intention was to come here and get a draw because I have seen them play in the champions of champions, Johnson said”.

“The score line is disappointing because since the league started this is my worst defeat away this season, he concluded”.

Rivers Angels will next make a trip to keep a date with Ibom Angels who also have a formidable home record in Uyo.