Rivers United head coach Finidi George has expressed deep satisfaction after leading the Pride of Rivers to the group stage of the CAF Champions League for the first time in their history.
Speaking to reporters after their 3-1 win over Black Bulls of Mozambique in Uyo on Saturday, Finidi described the qualification as “a special moment” for the club and for him personally. The result not only secured Rivers United’s passage to the group stage with a 3-2 aggregate scoreline but also ended Nigeria’s six-year absence from that phase of the competition.
“I am quite happy for the victory and the hard-fought battle. Yes, to have qualified is great for everybody here. We have been looking forward to this, and it has happened. Personally, it is an achievement to get to this stage, and going forward, we will see how we can compete in the group stages,” the coach said.
The former Super Eagles winger, who took charge of Rivers United last season, praised his players for their fighting spirit and composure after losing the first leg 1-0 in Mozambique.
“We could have won in Mozambique because we created enough chances to have got something out of it, but it didn’t happen. Fortunately for us, we scored three at home, and it is a well-deserved qualification,” he added.
Rivers United started the return leg with intent, pressing high and creating early chances. Wasiu Falolu opened the scoring in the 15th minute after reacting quickest to a rebound, before Maclyn Biokpo converted a penalty just before halftime to double the lead.
The visitors pulled one back through Moctar Diallo early in the second half, but Timothy Zachariah’s superb strike in the 78th minute sealed the victory.
Finidi, who previously guided Enyimba to continental competitions, said the focus would now shift to building a squad capable of competing with the continent’s best.
“We will see the draws and take each game as they come. We know how difficult this tournament is, so we will add one or two players to this squad. But we will enjoy this for now and take each game at a time,” he said.
With the qualification, Rivers United became the first Nigerian club to reach the Champions League group stage since Lobi Stars in the 2018-2019 season. The team will now return to NPFL action on Wednesday when they host Ikorodu City FC in Port Harcourt, before facing Bendel Insurance and Barau FC in subsequent fixtures.
