Ugochukwu Iwuchukwu
Heartland FC of Owerri defeated Rivers United two-nil in the opening fixture of the Tico/Select Pre-season Tournament Group B match at the Dan Anyiam Stadium, Owerri on Tuesday.
Jonas Emmanuel opened the scoring with a superb finish in the 19th minute of the game to put the Naze Millionaires in the lead after Chibuike Nwaiwu dispossessed Rivers United’s defense of the ball at the edge of the box.
In the second half, a penalty kick was awarded to Heartland FC as Rivers United goalie, Sochima fouled Chijioke Mbaoma inside the 18 yards box in an attempt to stop a promising attack in the 74th minute.
Peter Nwadike rose up to the occasion as he converted from the penalty spot to increase the Naze Millionaires’ tally to 2-0.
Rivers United will face Apex Krane in their next fixture with an attempt to return to winning ways while Heartland FC will battle First Mahi FC at the Dan Anyiam Stadium, Owerri with a huge task of securing a second consecutive win that will take them closer to the semi-final of the tournament.
RSG commence work at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium
In the meantime, Rivers United says it has started plans to put the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium ready for future games after the Confederation of African Football failed to approve the stadium for their Confederation Cup second round tie against Al Masry of Egypt.
The Confederation of African Football CAF has mandated Rivers United to play their playoff game against Al Masry of Egypt at the Enyimba International Stadium, Aba.
Speaking to newsmen on the development, the Media Officer of Rivers United Charles Mayuku promised the club’s fans that they will return to the Garden City if they qualify for the group stage of the competition.
“CAF did not approve our stadium for this particular match, there were some areas that they wanted us to upgrade and that couldn’t be done within a short time.
“Areas bothering on floodlights, scoreboard, and reserve bench stand, they also asked for an upgrade on the playing surface.
“Groundsmen have been working and did not meet the deadline. But it will be ready if we scale through the playoff round, it will be ready before our group stage game because work is seriously ongoing to get the facility running. We bought the scoreboard and the lightning and groundsmen have also started work on the playing surface,”
