“Don’t Lose Hope,” Coach Anistar Urges Fans After 1–0 Home Defeat

Head Coach of Abakaliki FC, StarPlus Anistar, has urged supporters not to lose hope following his side’s 1–0 home defeat to Osun United FC yesterday at the Pa Ngele Oruta Township Stadium.

The loss marked Abakaliki FC’s first home defeat of the season since Coach Anistar took over the job of headCoach, ending an impressive run in front of their fans. Speaking after the encounter, a visibly disappointed Anistar admitted his team fell short of expectations, particularly in the first half.

“Normally, that’s football. Even though we have a strange feeling about it because we’ve never had this experience this season, it’s our first home loss and I’m not just looking at the scoreline but at the performance,” he said. “The team performed below their standard in the first half. There are many factors that can be attributed to it, but as the coach of the team, I take responsibility for what happened today. We will go back to the drawing board and work on the team.”

The coach observed that his players started sluggishly, a sharp contrast to their usual high-intensity approach. “This particular game, our team started very sluggish in the first half, which is not our style. We always start with intensity. You could see that the Osun team came tactically prepared. Kudos to them as their delay approach worked and they took the three points,” he added. Despite the setback, Anistar called on fans to remain steadfast, stressing that the campaign is far from over.

“To our fans, don’t give up. We have not lost hope. We still have six games to the end of the season. We are going to Lagos this weekend, and that game is a make-or-mar affair. We will prepare to recover the points we lost at home, just like in the opening game when we lost at home and won away,” he assured.

On his part, Osun United FC Technical Adviser, Akinade Onigbinde, expressed delight over his team’s disciplined and tactical display. “They came to our home and drew with us, so we knew Abakaliki FC is a good side. We had to double our effort knowing they have good players. To God be the glory, the boys played according to our game plan,” he said. Onigbinde disclosed that second-half substitutions proved decisive. “After the first half, we brought in experienced players who gave us the victory. One thing about football is that sometimes it won’t be your day. They created good scoring opportunities but the goal didn’t come. Abakaliki is a good side, but it was not their day.” He added that his side would now turn attention to their next fixture against Akwa United, describing them as another formidable opponent. The result leaves Abakaliki FC with work to do as the season enters a decisive phase, while Osun United FC strengthens its campaign with a valuable away win.