Finidi vows Rivers revival amid winless run

Rivers United coach Finidi George has challenged his players to rediscover their winning touch after their winless run stretched to four matches following a 1-1 home draw against Enugu Rangers in the Nigeria Premier Football League, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

Chijioke Mbaoma put Rivers ahead in the 17th minute before Godwin Obaje restored parity for Rangers in the 53rd minute, leaving the hosts with another disappointing result at home.

It was Rivers’ second home draw in three matches, following their stalemate against Barau FC two weeks earlier, further compounding their recent struggles.

The draw saw Rivers drop to third place after 11 matches, three points behind leaders Rangers, who have a game in hand.

Reacting to the setback, Finidi urged his players to put the result behind them and focus on recovering the points lost in recent matches.

“We have to get back and get the players to recover. This one is gone; you can’t cry over spilt milk. We have to bounce back, go out and see how we can win. We have lost four points here; we have to get those four points back,” he said.

Finidi and his men, however, will have to wait another week to begin their recovery, following the indefinite postponement of their match-day 12 fixture against Sporting Lagos, which was scheduled for Saturday.

They will travel to Ilorin next weekend to face Kwara United before returning to Port Harcourt for a home encounter against Niger Tornadoes.

The setback comes as Finidi enters his third season in charge of the Port Harcourt-based club, having narrowly missed out on the NPFL title in his first two campaigns.

Rivers finished runners-up behind Remo Stars and Enugu Rangers in the respective seasons, and will be keen to avoid another frustrating title race.

Their on-field difficulties have also been accompanied by an off-field dispute with the NPFL over the live broadcast of their match against Rangers.

The league accused the Port Harcourt club of denying its broadcast partner, Murphy Ben International, access to the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium for the coverage of the encounter, an allegation Rivers disputed, insisting that it acted on broadcast scheduling information communicated by the league.

The NPFL subsequently handed the club a suspended N15m fine, alongside a suspended deduction of three points and three goals, while issuing a formal final warning. The sanctions will be activated if Rivers commit another breach of the league’s broadcasting regulations during the ongoing season.