Aiteo Cup: Rivers Angels Record First Win
Rivers Angels head coach Edwin Okon says the team’s Nigeria Women Premier League (NWPL) Super 4 served as a tonic that helped the side to win the women’s Aiteo Cup title.
The Jewel of Rivers defeated Ibom Angels 4-1 on penalties after the fulltime score stood at 1-1 in Wednesday’s Aiteo Cup final clash at the Rwang Pam Stadium in Jos to claim their Cup seventh title.
Forward Cynthia Aku gave the Garden City side the lead in the 49th minute while defender Glory Ogbonna evened scores for the Orange Ladies in the 53rd minute to end the hotly contested encounter one goal apiece.
Okon praised God for helping the Port Harcourt side win the Cup back to back.
“The poor NWPL Super 4 performance challenged us greatly as we were not expected to perform so poorly in the competition.
“After the NWPL Super 4 disappointment in Benin, it looked like everything had ended for us.
“However, I charged the players to forget about the Super 4 disappointment and concentrate fully on the Aiteo Cup.
“That did the magic and we thank God for granting us our heart’s desire.
“The joy of winning the Aiteo Cup is quite overwhelming and more rewarding is the personal award of the best coach of the championship to me.
“Ibom Angels are a good side coming this far to play in the final for the first time but I think the better side won on the day,” said the former Super Falcons coach.
Okon said his side will work very hard to reclaim the Nigeria Women Premier League (NWPL) title in the upcoming league season.
“History has it that any year we missed any of the titles we come back the next season to win the double.
“We are going to fortify the team from the goalkeeping, defence, midfield to attack to ensure we come back as the winners in the coming season,” said Okon.
The Port Harcourt side pocketed the princely sum of Ten Million Naira (N10m) as well as the Aiteo Cup trophy while the runners-up, Ibom Angels, took home the sum of Five Million Naira (N5)
And the individual award was given:
Best goalkeeper – Tochukwu Oluehi (Rivers Angels)
Best coach – Edwin Okon (Rivers Angels)
Most Valuable Player (MVP) – Charity Reuben (Ibom Angels)
