Rivers Angels beat Confluence Queens to 2019 Super Four crown 

Cecelia Nku’s second-minute penalty was all Rivers Angels needed to win the 2019 Nigeria Women Premier League (NWPL) title against a very determined Confluence Queens side. 

The well attended final, which had the Sports Minister, Sunday Dare, Women Affairs Minister, Mrs. Pauline Tallen and Edo State Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, all in attendance, lived up to fans’ expectations as the teams displayed entertaining football.

Precious Christopher briefly gave Confluence Queens hope in the 14th minute when her penalty hit the woodwork after Amaechi Ojini handled the ball inside the 18-yard box. 

The victory gave Edwin Okon’s side their seventh title having won the league last in 2016. 

An emotional Edwin Okon said after the game that he knew his side wouldn’t concede any goal, adding that scoring early was important for them.

“We worked hard for this and deserve to win… Confluence Queens gave us a lot of fight, but we remained resolute and defended well. This victory means a lot to me and my players.

“I want to appreciate my players, the management of Rivers Angels and the state Government of Rivers State. It has indeed been a tedious and satisfying season,” he said. 

Meanwhile, Confluence Queens coach, Whyte Ogbonda, whose team has failed to beat Rivers Angels in three consecutive finals, was unhappy with the result, but he promised to keep fighting. 

“I am not happy with the result today… I thought we deserve a better result from what we got. We were unlucky to lose a penalty when we indeed needed to have scored. We go back to Lokoja with a heavy heart and definitely we won’t relent from this success we have recorded,” he said.

Rivers Angels went home with a cash prize of N3 million and a one-week tour to Spain as part of the Laliga/NWFL partnership deal, while Confluence Queens got N2 million, with the third-placed Bayelsa Queens getting N1 million for their efforts.