Bendel Insurance again beat Enugu Rangers to win the Nigerian national cup, the Federation Cup on Wednesday.
It is the second time that the Benin City-boys have over come Enugu Rangers in the national cup after the first time in 1978.
Dr. Patrick Ekeji, a former national team and Enugu Rangers has explained the reasons why a rejuvenated Bendel Insurance achieved their feat 45 years ago.
At the time, Enugu Rangers were beaten 3-0 in the final match.
Going down memory lane, Dr. Ekeji explained that Bendel Insurance coach, Alabi Aiesien was a man with deep insight into football.
“He was my coach in P&T Vasco Da Gama, Enugu…”, noted Ekeji who in later years left the then city rivals of Enugu Rangers for the fanatically supported symbol of Igbo solidarity.
According to Ekeji, a Rangers’ defender at the epic 1978 final match, “Coach Aisien won that game with a ‘clinical’ strategy which the Enugu Rangers team managers failed to decipher.”
Beyond that, Ekeji revealed that Enugu Rangers players were already suffering from fatigue having then just come back from two back-to-back semi finals duels in WAFU Cup.
He remarked further that while the players were threatening a boycott of the Challenge Cup final match with Bendel Insurance, the club managers did not have the guts to stand up to the NFA.
“By the end of the WAFU Cup matches, we (Rangers) were match-weary and tired. The result of the Challenge match vindicated my insistence that we boycott that final match.
“Coach Alabi Aisien knew that a “recovered” Pat Ekeji would be impossible to overcome in the Enugu Rangers defence.”
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