Nasarawa United head coach Mangut Mbwas has expressed delight after his side returned to winning ways with a hard fought 1-0 victory over Bendel Insurance on matchday 27 of the Nigeria Premier Football League season.
John Joshua struck in the 40th minute at the Lafia City Stadium to seal all three points for the Solid Miners and complete a league double over the Benin City side.
Speaking after the game, Mbwas admitted the win was timely following two recent defeats.
“It’s a thing of joy to get the maximum points today,” Mbwas said. “Prior to today, we had lost two games this second stanza of the league which affected the team’s spirit, but I’m glad we are recovering gradually,” he told NUFC media.
The coach praised debutant Suleiman Dauda, who earned a penalty deep into stoppage time after being brought down in the box. Substitute Ngei Oluka Efor missed the resulting spot kick, but Mbwas refused to criticise his players.
“Youngster Suleiman Dauda made his Premier League debut today. I must give credit to him,” he said. “He is a product from the just concluded Nasarawa State Governor’s Cup. I have been watching him, and I know he has what it takes to succeed in the game.”
He added: “As for the penalty miss, any player can miss. We used to have our penalty taker, Anas Yusuf, who is no more with us. We are building the confidence on someone else.”
Mbwas revealed that the club are rotating penalty takers in training as they search for a reliable option.
“We keep rotating who takes our spot kicks like we do in our trainings, to see who the perfect taker for the team will be. We hope to get it right, going forward.”
The victory lifted Nasarawa United to third on the table with 44 points, one behind leaders Ikorodu City.
Mbwas believes his side must maintain focus in the title race.
“We are not too far from the top of the league table. Every match is important to us,” he said. “We can’t afford to disappoint the people of Nasarawa State. We have to do everything humanly possible to finish strong at the end of the season.”
Nasarawa United travel to Enugu next to face Rangers International before hosting Ikorodu City in a potentially decisive clash.
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