Warri Wolves head coach Hassan Abdallah has blamed defensive lapses for his side’s 2-1 defeat to Bendel Insurance in their opening 2026/27 Nigeria Premier Football League fixture at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City, reports Nigeriasoccernet.com.
The Seasiders took an early lead through Towo Eventus just four minutes into the South-South derby, but Bendel Insurance levelled through Kayode Oke Solomon in the 20th minute before Alex Oweiyalefa scored the winning goal two minutes after the restart.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Abdallah admitted that his defenders failed to meet expectations and that the team’s inability to protect their early advantage contributed to the defeat.
“We scored in the early stage (four minutes) of the match. But unfortunately, we couldn’t hold on to the lead until the end of the first half,” Abdallah said.
“I saw some technical faults in our central defenders, which I’m going to work on with a view to correcting them,” he added.
The former Heartland coach also defended his decision to field a largely youthful squad, explaining that his football philosophy places emphasis on energy, speed and the development of young players.
“As you rightly said, I paraded a bunch of very, very young players. The point is, I’m trying to prove some points that football now is a game of energy. And for you to be able to move faster and quicker, you must be within the age range of between 18–20 years. And that’s why I paraded a team of young players,” he said.
Abdallah further praised his players for following his tactical instructions despite the defeat, particularly in the way they built attacks from the back.
“But then, my motivation to them is that I’ve got my own philosophy. I always like my team to knock the ball right from the middle (midfield) and then put it at the sides (flanks), and then square the ball and score.
“They followed the instruction. They did very well, as you could see. They played as a team right from the build-up, from the goalkeeper through to the midfield and then to the attack. We had some chances, but we couldn’t convert them.”
Warri Wolves will now look to address their defensive shortcomings and secure their first points of the new NPFL campaign in their next fixture.