Finidi lauds Rivers away form in title charge

Finidi George (middle). Photo Rivers United

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Rivers United coach, Finidi George, has praised his team’s growing resilience on the road after their dramatic 2–1 comeback victory over Plateau United in Jos on Thursday, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

The former champions underlined the club’s Nigeria Premier Football League title ambitions with their second away win of the season, having also remained unbeaten in other away matches.

Despite falling behind early in Jos, through a Nenrot Silas’ opener for the hosts, Rivers United pegged Plateau United back with an equaliser from Bolu Sholumade in the second half before a late Wisdom Ndon own goal secured the win for the Port Harcourt side, taking them joint top of the league table with an outstanding game.

Speaking after the match, Finidi reflected on how his team’s ability to grind out results away from home has become a defining feature of their campaign.

“It’s an important win,” Finidi said.

“In the first half, we struggled a little and gave them too many throw-ins and free kicks, which brought them into the game. But in the second half, we pressed higher, forced them to go long and focused on winning the second balls. Once we did that, we had the whole field to operate.”

Crucially, it meant Rivers United added to an already impressive away record — 11 points on the road, the most by any team in the 2025/26 NPFL season. In seven away games this season, they have won two and drawn five.

They have also gone eight matches without defeat in recent times.

Finidi believes that consistency away from home is giving his side a strong platform in the title race.

“We are quite happy. Last Sunday, we could have gotten another three points against Abia Warriors, but it didn’t happen. They scored in the last minute,” he added.

“From the last two games, we have four points, and that’s not bad at all. These are the kinds of results that keep you up there. Being unbeaten away gives us confidence and belief as we move forward.”

Rivers United are now joint top of the NPFL standings with Nasarawa United on 30 points, with a game in hand.

Attention now turns to match-day 17, where Finidi’s men return to the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium to face Wikki Tourist on Monday.

Another positive result could see Rivers United take outright control of the NPFL summit, further strengthening a title push powered by their remarkable away form.

Since the club was formed with the merger of Sharks FC and Dolphins FC in 2016, their only NPFL title was won in 2022 under coach Stanley Eguma.

Finidi, a former Sharks player, has also won the league as a coach, guiding Enyimba to their ninth title in 2023.

Abiodun, who reports Sports for PUNCH, covers different tiers of the Nigerian football league, the national teams, as well as cricket, in the last six years

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