After guiding Naija Ratels to their third straight season in the Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) Premiership, head coach of the Abuja-based side, Bankole Olowookere is elated with his team’s spirited performance.

Ahead of their final game of the regular season against Abia Angels, the team was at risk of relegation but a 3-0 win put them three points off safety securing their status in the process.

Goals from Agama Ziperekefeghe, Unamba Augustina, and Grace Saliu in the first half lifted the host to a comfortable win to the delight of the coach of the Nigeria U-17 women’s national team.

“We thank God that the little efforts applied yielded results and we are still in the Premiership,” Olowookere told journalists after the match.

The first half was a domineering one for Naija Ratels as the second half couldn’t produce any goal from either side.

“We have a winning strategy but the opponents made it easier for us.” He continued. “I think before they came in, they had lost the match on their mind. From the start of the game, they were not in it and we capitalised on that to score the first goal. That first goal was very important. They [the opponent] were not concentrating on the game and focusing on the referee with the mindset that there wouldn’t be fair officiating and were losing it. The coach was even lucky to have escaped a red card.

“Our game plan worked as we wanted to score as many goals as we could in the first half so that we would be more comfortable and not struggle. The goals came in the first half and in the second half, the goals couldn’t come. Our opponents find time to settle down better in the second half. We would have done more because what I was projecting was to score. After all, when you are playing a weaker side, you need to score more goals. We have a deficit of seven goals. We want to use this to cancel that but we thank God we were able to score three out of seven. It is okay for us and I think we didn’t finish that badly on the table.

“Lack of concentration really affected us. I recruited Saliu Grace from Osun Babes. I knew that she was a promising star. She started late. Thank God that she is been able to get herself better. I have spoken to her and her family. I am not only a coach but also a father. I think she is better. In the last game, she did well. In our last three games, she had been fantastic. I am happy that I achieved the aim of bringing her in as a good star. I will still keep working on her to be one of the best Nigeria can produce. Very soon, if she can keep what she is doing, she can get the call to the national U-17 team or the U-20. She is a good girl.” He concluded.

The Abuja-based side finished fifth in Group A with 17 points, eight points off the Super Six qualification.

Ratels enjoyed a fairly debut season in the top flight and qualified for the Super Six during the 2021/2022 season. After such a historic feat, they had since struggled to replicate such in their past two seasons.