Coach of Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) defending champions, Rivers United of Port Harcourt, Stanley Eguma has described his Liberian import, Gibson Mark as the joker he used against Sunshine Stars of Akure in their Match Day 1 of the ongoing NPFL Championship play-off.
The Pride of Rivers recorded a 1-0 victory over the Akeredolu boys to gain the maximum three points at stake.
It took the introduction of Mark in the second half of the game for the defending champions to gain a penalty that resulted in the only goal of the match.
Speaking after the encounter, Eguma said he knew that Mark, when introduced in the game will torment his opponent’s defenders and make them commit a penalty, noting that he’s happy his plans worked out.
“We played against a very tough opponent and as the game was winding down, I knew that the only way I could win the match was to introduce my joker, Gibson Mark, whom I know can make Sunshine defenders commit penalties and it worked for us,” he said.
On their plans for their next opponent in Match Day 2 of the tournament on Monday, the well-experienced coach explained that they will approach each game with seriousness even as he sounded optimistic that his team is capable of retaining the League title.