FEW months after jostling for the job of the Super Eagles coach, ex-internationals Finidi George and Emmanuel Amuneke will be at the opposite end in the dugout when Rivers United host Heartland in a 2024/25 Nigeria Premier Football League match-day two clash with Heartland in Port Harcourt on Saturday (today).
Coincidentally, both managers are in search of their first league wins in charge of their new clubs after they both made the switch before the start of the campaign.
Finidi, who got the Super Eagles job and had a two-game stint with the national team, however, refused to play the main character as he faces his former Super Eagles teammate, who was also in the running for the national team job.
“He is a colleague; he is a friend of mine, and there is nothing special about us being on the bench. We will just do our jobs. No extra pressure on my own part, and I hope that will be the same on his part too,” Finidi said ahead of the game.
It’s the first home game of the season for Finidi’s Rivers United, who played a goalless draw against Bendel Insurance with 10 men last week, while Amuneke is also in search of his first point in charge of Heartland after suffering a 3-1 defeat at home against Enyimba last week.
“They lost at home, so I think they will come here like wounded lions, but we at home will be focused on getting the maximum three points. It’s going to be a difficult game, but at the end of the day we want to win, and they will also want to get something out of it,” Finidi added.
“We want to play good and balanced football, so the support will be huge for us.”
The Rivers United vs. Heartland game will be televised live on StarTimes (the official league broadcast partner) via Beta Sports Channel 244 starting at 3 pm, and the game will be followed by the Southwest derby clash between Remo Stars and Sunshine Stars in Ikenne starting at 5:30 pm.
Meanwhile, Kazeem Ogunleye’s late second-half goal saved Rangers’ blushes as the Nigerian champions recorded a slim 1-0 win over Angola’s Sagrada Esperanca in their CAF Champions League second preliminary round first leg game in Uyo on Friday.
Former Nigerian champions, Enyimba, were also involved in the CAF Confederation Cup as they secured a goalless draw away to Burkina Faso’s Etoile de Filante in their second preliminary round first leg game.
At the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo, Sagrada proved to be tough opponents for Rangers, frustrating Fidelis Ilechukwu’s side’s attacking efforts with solid defending throughout the match.
