Rivers United technical adviser Finidi George praised his side’s emphatic 5-0 victory over Kun Khalifat FC in their Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) matchday five fixture on Thursday.
Salman Abubakar gave the Port Harcourt-based team the lead in the 27th minute, firing a superb effort from outside the penalty area.
Rivers United created further opportunities before half-time but could not add to their advantage, leaving Kun Khalifat trailing 1-0 at the interval.
The hosts increased the intensity after the restart and scored four more times to secure a convincing win.
Chijioke Mbaoma doubled Rivers United’s lead four minutes after the break, converting in the 49th minute after being set up by Alex Oyowah.
Abubakar then completed his brace nine minutes later. A well-worked team move allowed him to make it 3-0 in the 58th minute.
Wasiu Falolu added a fourth in the 62nd minute, with Mbaoma providing the assist, before substitute Ekene Awazie completed the scoring six minutes from full time.
Finidi said he had anticipated a difficult contest and admitted he was surprised by the scale of Rivers United’s victory.
“I’m very happy with the result, especially the goals, as I was thinking it was going to be a difficult game. At a point, I had to go sit down,” Finidi told the club’s media.
Rivers United’s next assignment will be away to Katsina United.
“We will now look forward to the next match away to Katsina United,” Finidi added.
The former Nigeria manager also urged his players to maintain their level of performance as the season develops, saying consistency would be central to the club’s ambitions.
“We will continue to encourage the players to stay consistent because that is very important. We hope they can continue the same way because it is very important. We have big ambition this season,” he said.
Finidi warned that Rivers United face a demanding schedule, with three matches to be played across a short period.
“We are having a couple of games coming up. We will play next week Monday, Thursday and the following week. So, it’s going to be a tasking week, two weeks for us. It’s going to be hectic for the players,” he said.