Rivers United coach Eguma still won’t entertain title talks after Enyimba win

Rivers United head coach Stanley Eguma believes the title race is still open despite seeing his side extend their lead at the top of the table to four points after a 2-0 win over Enyimba on Monday.

2019 champions Enyimba were guests of the champions-in-waiting at their fortress, the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium, Port Harcourt in a MatchDay 23 game moved by 24 hours after their lengthy trip back from Katsina.

Rivers United were aiming for a rare league double over the People’s Elephant and they got their noses in front in the 21st minute when Ishaq Rafiu converted from the penalty spot after he had been upended by Enyimba captain Austin Oladapo.

The Pride of Rivers doubled their advantage in the 34th minute through Chiamaka Madu who bundled the ball home from close range after a moment of defensive uncertainty for the visitors.

Enyimba tried to claw their ways back into the game but were prevented from doing so by a resolute Rivers United side who had an answer for every question asked by the former league champions.

Monday’s win takes Rivers United’s ponts tally for the season to a staggering 52 points from 23 matches, four clear of second place Plateau United who have 48 points from the same number of games.

Eguma, a league winner in 2011, says in spite of their imperial run, nothing is guaranteed yet.

“Like I will always say, it is not yet over,” he told www.npfl.ng.

“The league is a marathon, you cannot say it is over when we have more than fifteen games to play.

So one cannot just begin to celebrate. We still have other tough opponents to play so for now I think we’re still on course and there’s a very big hope in the team that we can achieve,” added Eguma.

Up next for Rivers United on MatchDay 24 is a trip to Akure to face Sunshine Stars on Thursday. Eguma says his team is now a target for opposing teams and must be ready for it.

“We still need to work above our capacity because we’re now targets of every other team so we cannot relent.

“Look at Enyimba, if they can be playing like these in other matches, they won’t lose any games but because it is Rivers United, they played with the last drop of their blood to get victory but we were more than determined to achieve our aim,” summed the former Enyimba assistant coach.