Bendel Insurance head coach Greg Ikhenoba was a relieved man on Saturday after leading his side to a 2-1 victory over Plateau United in their Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) clash in Benin City.
Uche Collins and Kayode Oke scored for thr hosts at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, while Victor Dawa netted for the visitors from Jos.
Ikhenoba expressed happiness after guiding his side to the full points and assured that the team will continue to battle on and improve in a bid to move out of the drop zone.
“I’m happy that our efforts yielded the results we desired,” he said in his post-match interview.
“The battle continues. We will continue to work hard. There is no weak opponent in Nigeria league anymore. We will get better.”
Bendel Insurance edged ahead as Collins headed home in the seventh minute off Julius Emiloju’s cross from the left flank.
Plateau United were presented with a golden opportunity to pull level eight minutes later, but Olawale Doyeni failed to convert a penalty awarded to them following a foul by Nnamdi Anthony.
The visitors eventually got their equaliser in the 24th minute when Dawa’s long-range strike was slightly deflected by Dennis Chigozie, beating Joshua Baba in the Insurance goal.
Bendel Insurance dominated the second half but missed several scoring chances until the 66th minute when Isaac Annor’s free-kick met a well-positioned Oke who nodded home to restore their lead.
The Benin Arsenal have two back-to-back away fixtures next, as they face Akwa United and Heartland FC on Matchdays 16 and 17 at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo and Dan Anyiam Stadium in Owerri respectively.
Plateau United head coach, Mbwas Mangut, felt his side deserved at least a point and promised never to change their attacking philosophy.
“We approach every game with the mind set to win and we will continue to fight for better results next time,” Mangut said.
Despite the victory, Bendel Insurance are second from bottom, one spot below Plateau United, who have a slightly better goal difference as they both battle relegation.
