It was an unpleasant experience for Bendel Insurance Football Club of Benin on the last day of the 2024 Nigeria Premier Football League season as they got the shock of their life when relegation threatened Beyelsa United handed them a 2-0 defeat before their home fans in Benin.
Insurance lost the matchday 37 game 2-0 to Rangers International last week at the coal city which earned the flying Antelope the league title with a match to spare.
The injury plagued Insurance side expected to cover their lost ground in the season ending encounter at the Samuel Ogbemudia stadium,only for them to get the shocking result in the presence of their proprietors and fans.p
Ekeson Okorie got the early breakthrough for the visitors in the 5th minute of play with a low drive that made Joshua Baba helpless.
In the 35th minute Garando Tekena doubled the lead after Insurance strikers had wasted several scoring chances. It was a neat header without any challenge after Joshua Baba had parried the first two strikes.
Coach Monday Odigie,not pleased with the results,made double substitutions for Insurance in the 73rd minute with Divine Nwachukwu, Julius Emiloju giving way for Sheyi Okeowo and Raymond Ikhenona in his bid to strengthen the attack. Odigie’s changes however improved his side’s performance but the host looked jinxed as all their efforts could not change the result.
Recall that Insurance also lost to Bayelsa Utd by the same margin when they met in the first round of the league in Bayelsa.
The result at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium means that Insurance ended the league at the middle of the table with 53 points. ##
