Plateau United head coach Gbenga Ogunbote has praised his players after their dramatic 2-1 away victory over Remo Stars, a result secured by a stoppage-time strike from Harrison Ebah that eased the club’s relegation fears and boosted their position in the Nigeria Premier Football League standings.
Speaking after the match, Gbenga Ogunbote expressed satisfaction not only with the performance but with the importance of the three points, which moved Plateau United away from the relegation zone. He said, “i think I’m very happy, not because we just won, but because the 3 points assisted us to move away from the drop or the red line. This is what we’ve been struggling partly to get all through, finally all we need is to manage it and get it done”.
Plateau United led for long spells and played against ten men for much of the contest following Remo Stars early red card, but Ogunbote admitted his side failed to fully exploit the numerical advantage. After Remo Stars found an equalizer despite being a man down, the coach reflected on his team’s approach, saying, “i think we were careless about it, we didn’t take advantage of their one man short, nervousness, we were too eager, we forgot entirely to tidy up our Defence. We were looking for a security goal without defending the one we actually scored”.
Gbenga Ogunbote also highlighted the significance of the venue, noting that the neutral ground worked in his team’s favor. He added, “I know too well that even the players are aware of the importance of this game, you never can get it better than this, this is a neutral grand and we took advantage of it.”
The defeat leaves Remo Stars deep in relegation trouble, sitting 18th on the table with 26 points after recording their 14th loss of the season. Plateau United, meanwhile, climb to 14th place with 30 points, now three clear of the drop zone after securing their ninth win of the campaign.
Attention now turns to matchday 25, where Ogunbote’s side will host Kwara United in a North Central derby that could further shape their survival push.
