Hosts Wikki Tourists FC, Rivers United draw 1-1

By Ahmed Kaigama

Hosts Wikki Tourists Football Club of Bauchi drew 1-1 with Rivers United of Port Harcourt in a rescheduled Match Day 12 fixture of the 2022/2023 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the rescheduled match  was played at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium (ATBS) in Bauchi on Thursday behind closed doors.

During the match, Wikki Tourists played with vigour to secure goals and points for a win that might help them to escape from the league’s relegation zone.

Wikki Tourists’ Victor Okoro secured the match’s first goal after 52 minutes, while Alber Korvah equalised for the visitors 15 minutes later.

Wikki Tourists FC are now in Group B’s ninth position with 16 points from 17 matches, after four wins, four draws and nine losses.

Rivers United’s Technical Manager, Stanley Eguma, while speaking with newsmen during the post-match news conference described the game as “a good match”.

“We have a lot of scoring chances, and it was a balanced game. But my team was suffering from fatigue and injuries.

“When we return to base, we will correct our mistakes and prepare for the next match,” he said.

On his part, Wikki Tourists’ Technical Adviser, Gilbert Opuana, said the performance of his team was marvelous and the players had done their best.

”The match started and ended well. We expected a win but ended with a draw. We missed chances, which if we had converted could have improved our position. But somehow we couldn’t do that.

“Now we are going to prepare for our next match, and we need prayers and encouragement,” Opuana said.

(NAN)