Heartland’s problems off the pitch don’t seem to be abetting even as they continued their struggle on the pitch to beat relegation.
After grinding out a 1-0 win over Katsina United to pick a most needed three points that slightly improved their placing on the log, Coach Erasmus Ọnụ alluded to the off pitch difficulties with a famous quote of “It is garbage in garbage out”.
Ọnụ spoke at a post-match interview and while raising hopes that they’re capable of retaining their place in the top league, said it is left for the club management to play their part.
“Yes it was actually difficult, if you look at this team it is one of the well-structured teams in the league. You see this team, Akwa United and Rangers are some of the well-structured teams in the league and I have played against them. We were lucky to have taken our chance and won today” he said.
Heartland problems began with the season and leans largely on poor funding which on occasions forced the players to protest backlog of unpaid entitlements.
In the MatchDay 34 fixture, it was the home side that started on a brighter note, controlling and dictating the pace of the game.
A 47th-minute penalty which was converted by Chukwude Nwaodu after Ebejo Chukwueze was brought down inside the box, was the all-important goal as the Naze Millionaires finished the game on a high.
According to Onu their persistence paid off. “I told the boys to go back and continue to push and it paid off in the second half though it was a penalty but it was worth it”, Ọnụ told www.npfl.ng
Katsina United Coach Usman Abdallah congratulated Heartland but questioned the penalty call insisting it was a wrong decision from the centre referee.
“Heartland played well and it was a well-deserved victory which they needed but it was unfortunate that the penalty call was a wrong one because from where I was standing I did not see what the offence”, complained Usman.
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