23rd April, 2023
Plateau United Football Club of Jos on Sunday defeated visiting Nasarawa United of Lafia 1-0, with the players earning a bonus totaling two million Naira.
They recorded the victory in a Match Day 15 fixture of the 2022/2023 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) played at the New Zaria Road Stadium in Jos.
Each of the 20 Plateau United players who took part in the match went home with N100,000 each.
This was in fulfillment of a promise before the match kick-off by the club’s General Manager, Pius Henwan.
Perhaps with the determination to pocket the bonus, Plateau United went ahead through Nenrot Silas in the 13th minute of the encounter.
But the match did have little to separate both sides in the game’s early stages.
After the lone goal and even in the second half, the visitors mounted serious pressure on the hosts, but their efforts yielded no result.
Plateau United’s Technical Adviser, Fidelis Ilechukwu, in his post-match interview, acknowledged that Nasarawa United played better than his side.
“They operated like a wounded lion, but we made sure we tamed them. Our game plan was to score and when we got the goal we defended our lead with everything in us. We are happy that we got the three points, which is the most important thing in football. With this result, we are positive about playing in the NPFL Top Six. Our next game is against Kwara United, which is difficult, but Enyimba International’s 1-1 draw today with visiting Remo Stars has given us more hope of progression,” he added.
Nasarawa United’s acting Head Coach, Arkiya’a Abubakar, on his part however rued his side’s chances and inability to get the needed goals.
Abubakar said that they would go back to the drawing board to reassess themselves ahead of upcoming games.
He said the hosts did not play up to the high standards they set for themselves in recent times.
“Our boys played better than them, but the result made the difference,” the coach said.