Bendel Insurance FC will be looking to return to winning ways when they host FC Barau in one of the Nigeria Premier Football League Matchday 7 fixtures on Sunday, with kickoff scheduled for 4:00pm at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City.
Executive Chairman of the Edo State Sports Commission, Hon Amadin Desmond Enabulele, has urged the players and coaches of the Benin Arsenals to remain focused and committed to achieving the target set by the club’s management, finishing among the top three teams at the end of the season.
Enabulele made it clear to the coaching crew, led by Kennedy Boboye, and the team’s key players that anything short of a top three finish this season would be considered a poor result by management, stressing that the club must improve on the fifth place finishes recorded in the last two consecutive seasons.
The Edo State Sports Commission boss spoke during a brief meeting with the team before their final training session at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium on Friday afternoon, maintaining that with discipline and determination, the team is capable of achieving its primary objectives this season despite a recent 3 0 defeat to Abia Warriors in Aba on Matchday 6.
Reflecting on the heavy defeat, Enabulele described the result as humiliating but remained optimistic about the remainder of the campaign, encouraging the players to put the Aba loss behind them and use Sunday’s home fixture as an opportunity to return to winning ways.
He told the squad he is a goal getter who does not settle for being close to hitting targets, demanding to know exactly what has gone wrong with the team’s away form, having failed to secure a single result, not even a draw, in three matches played outside Benin City this season.
Enabulele insisted there should be no excuse on Sunday, urging the players to go out and secure three points against Barau FC while also calling for improved performances in away fixtures to lift the club’s overall league position.
The Benin Arsenals face a formidable Barau FC side boasting an unbeaten run in the league, with Bendel Insurance currently occupying eighth position on nine points from six matches, while the visitors sit third with 12 points and are yet to taste defeat this season.
The two teams last met during the 2025/26 season in Kano, where the reverse fixture ended in a 1 1 draw, setting the stage for another closely contested Matchday 7 encounter as both sides look to strengthen their positions on the table.
By Asiwaju Adekunle Saheed
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