Fatai Osho, Akwa United head coach has disclosed that his team’s pre-season defeat to Enyimba of Aba is a good tactical lesson ahead of the NPFL new season.
“We are not necessarily looking at the outcome of this pre-season game but we were more interested in our tactical approach and the performance of our players against a team like Enyimba,” Osho said.
According to him, Akwa United made some mistakes in the first-half by not being aggressive enough in the encounter. He said his team created a paradise for Enyimba, which they paid for by going behind in the first half with the defeat.
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Three first-half goals by Alalibo Somiari, Joseph Atule and Chijioke Mbaoma gave Enyimba the lead with Rilwan Sadiq’s second half goal for Akwa United coming only as a consolation goal at the Uyo township stadium, Wednesday afternoon.
Osho disclosed that the essence of the pre-season friendly game was to try out new tactical approach with some new players against the league champions as they prepare ahead of the 2023-2024 football season.
“In the second half, we made some changes and took control of the game, created lots of scoring chances but we couldn’t overturn the first half result,” he said.
He said his team’s finishing was not good and that is the most important lesson himself and the technical team took away from the game.
“I’m happy that we are already working on our finishing which we are going to continue and hopefully we will sort that out in some friendly games before the commencement of the new season”.
