Bendel Insurance FC head coach, Greg Ikhenoba, has expressed confidence in his newly assembled squad’s ability to compete strongly as the 2025/2026 Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) season unfolds, reports BSNSports.com.ng.

 

Ikhenoba shared his thoughts during the post-match press conference after Bendel Insurance’s 1-1 draw against Shooting Stars FC in the NPFL Matchday 2 clash at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium on Saturday.

 

Appealing for patience and support from both club management and fans, the coach acknowledged some early shortcomings but reassured that the team would address these weaknesses to improve results moving forward.

 

“Every coach has his or her philosophy and game plans, but sometimes it doesn’t go as planned and that doesn’t mean the team is bad,” Ikhenoba said.

 

He noted that Bendel Insurance created several scoring opportunities but were let down by their forwards’ eagerness to finish chances.

 

“Our strikers were in a hurry to score and ended up throwing away the chances. We will continue to work on the areas we have issues with and I am confident we will get it fixed and goals will start coming,” he added.

 

Despite the modest return of one point and one goal from two matches, the coach maintained that the season is still in its early stages and far from decided.

 

“One point out of six in the first two matches is not the end of the league and will not translate to how we end the league. The league is very fresh, I am confident we will get the job done,” Ikhenoba stressed.

 

The match itself saw Shooting Stars take an early lead just five minutes into the game through Ayodele Ismail, but Bendel Insurance responded swiftly with Alex Oweilayefa scoring his NPFL debut goal in the 13th minute with a neat header to level the score.

 

Looking ahead, Bendel Insurance will travel to Kano next weekend to face newly promoted side Barau FC in Matchday 3.