The coach of Lobi Penguins, Timothy Imenger, has attributed his team’s victory in the just concluded 5th Moses Orkuma Unity Cup to his players’ adherence to tactical discipline.
Lobi Penguins had edged out St Michaels Ameladu 1-0 in the final match to emerge champions of the grassroots football competition.
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The only goal of the match was scored by Agada Thaddeus in the 10th minute of the match played at the JS Tarka Stadium in Gboko.
In a chat with Daily Trust, Imenger said in order to beat St Michaels, he had to deploy more midfielders to starve them of the ball.
He said the 2-1 victory over the opponents in the preliminary round gave him an idea of what to expect in the finals.
“I attribute our victory to tactical discipline on the part of my players. After our match in the preliminary round, I noticed that they are good on the counter.
“So, I adapted the 4-3-3 formation. I made use of more midfielders to cut their supply. I used good ball handlers so they didn’t see much of the ball.
“After we scored, we continued to hold up play. My midfielders did a good job by keeping the ball with them most of the time,” he disclosed.
Imenger also said victory was possible because his boys did a good job on St Michaels’ danger man, Rev. Father Emmanuel Asue, the Priest in charge of the Parish.
The younger brother to former Nigerian international, Late Barnabas Imenger, said he is spurred by the victory to pursue a professional career in football coaching.
Meanwhile, for winning the tournament, Lobi Penguins took home a giant trophy and cash prize of N250,000 while the runners up, St Michaels went home with N200,000 courtesy of the sponsor and his friends.
The annual football competition is sponsored by a former Nigerian junior international, Moses Orkuma who plays for UMM Salal in Qatar.
