Bendel Insurance battled hard against St. Andrews at the S and T Barracks field to book a place in the quarter-final of the ongoing Edo FA Cup, platinumnewsng.com is reporting.
Super sub-Junior Osaghae‘s 79th-minute sublime shot sealed the victory for the Benin Arsenal as they scaled past a tough opposition under the scorching sun in Benin.
After defeating Doma United in the Nigeria Premier Football League on Sunday, the Federation Cup Champions began their title defense. In the State FA Cup after being drawn bye for the round of 32.
Up against the none legue team, St. Andrews, Coach Greg Ikhenoba made nine changes to the team that won 4-0 on Sunday. Only Hussaini Abdullahi and Joshua Baba from Sunday’s victory started for Insurance.
With the centre referee, Aisosa Ogbomo’s whistle signalling the start of the game, Raymond Ikhenoba wasted no time in finding the back of the net. His first goal since joining Insurance last October.
Perturbed by conceding less than 20 seconds into the game, St. Andrews players in their traditional white and blue began to cause trouble on Insurance defence but, the resolute backline held strong until the 24th minute.
George Amos in a fantastic manner beat Efe Enabulele to latch beyond the reach of Joshua Baba. The ball went into the top corner to restore parity. St. Andrews kept on searching for a lead but Insurance remained strong.
As time passes, the Benin Arsenal sent in Divine Nwachukwu, Evans Ogbonda, Haruna Abubakar and Ebuka Akobundu for the win.
These tactical substitutions paid off as Osaghae successfully finished a pass from Haruna Abubakar. After taking the lead, the Benin Arsenal defended the lead and saw off the game as victors
Bendel Insurance will now face last year’s finalist Bendel Insurance Feeders in the quarter-final of the competition.
Meanwhile, the team will travel to Ikenne for their NPFL Matchday 27 meeting against Remo Stars.