With Rivers United already out of the race for Naija Super 8 glory, a win in the final game of the group stage was mandatory to save their face.
The pride of Rivers crashed out of the tournament following a 1-0 defeat against Akwa United but salvaged the tournament with a 1-0 victory over Yobe Desert Stars in the final game of the group stage on Wednesday which served as a morale booster for the side.
Kazie Enyinnaya scored the only goal of the game in the 25th minute to see the pride of Rivers hold their head up after a disappointing run in the tournament.
While the Naija Super 8 was about the prizes, pride and guts for most teams, Rivers United according to midfielder and Hero of the Match; Onoja Joseph, saw it as an opportunity for himself and the Pride of Rivers to warm up for CAF games and root out Loopholes in the team. He revealed this in a post-match interview following a 1-0 win over Yobe Desert Stars:
“…this is a preseason tournament, we are using it to prepare for our CAF game and going home without a win won’t be the best for us, winning this match will be a morale booster”
When asked about Rivers United’s poor run of games, Onoja said:
“We call it a Transition period, we have to build. During this preseason it helps a lot of teams to build, winning matches may not really be the best for the team because they won’t have the chance to see their loopholes. We will go back to the drawing board”
A major rebuild is in the works for Rivers United as they parted ways with 10 players ahead of the 2023/24 Nigeria Premier League season.
Headlining the departure is Bolaji Sakin who arrived from Guinean club, Horoya FC. Others on the list are Ihunda Chigozie, Madu, Chiamaka, Fabian Nworie and Darlington Ovunda.
The remaining players on the list are Malachi Ohawume, Akpesiri Naibe, Francis Ifeanyi, Kenechukwu Agu and Chukwudi Lawrence.
Lobi Stars finished top of the group with 7 points and are through to the semifinal alongside Akwa United. Rivers United finished third with three points with all points coming against Yobe Desert Stars.
The CAF inter-club competition is set to begin on Friday, August 18, 2023, with Rivers United among the four clubs to represent Nigeria.
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