Chukwudi Meze was the saviour as defending Champions of the President Federation Cup, Bendel Insurance Football Club of Benin made a winning start to the 2024 edition of the Cup tournament with a slim margin win over Stormers FC of Abeokuta, platinumnewsng.com is reporting.
The round of 64 fixture which took place at the Area 3 football field in Abuja saw Chukwudi Meze score in the 61st minute of the game off a beautiful pass from second-half substitute, Paul Obata.
The defending Champions started the game strongly, creating several goal-scoring chances but couldn’t find the back of the net. There was however a major scare for Bendel Insurance when one of their opponent’s strikers already beat Insurance’s goalkeeper, Joshua Baba but couldn’t hit the target.
Bendel Insurance resumed the second half in full force after a goalless first half as Paul Obata who came off the bench created multiple problems for Stormers FC. They eventually succumbed after Paul Obata provided the assist for Meze who scored the winner in the 61st minute.
The victory propels Bendel Insurance to the round of 32 as they await the draws to know their next opponents.
It wasn’t a similar tale for the Edo state FA cup runners-up, Ine Stars who were defeated 2-1 by Kebbi United at the same venue just moments before the kickoff of the Bendel Insurance game.