Phinan Ozonweke, Head Coach of Edel FC, has praised his players' strong mentality and fight to the finish spirit' which saw them grind out a 2-1 win against rampant Abia Comets in Wednesday's Nigeria National League, NNL fixture at Awka City Stadium, Exclusivenews.com.ng reports.

Abia Comets controlled and dominated play from start to finish and we're close to running home with a valuable point before
Wasiu Lawal scored the winner five minutes into the six minutes of additional time.

Ifeanyi Aniji scored the opening goal for Edel in the 43rd minute of the first half while Abia Comets drew level in the 83rd minute, raising hope of achieving their expected draw in the 'Oriental Derby' before Lawal struck.

The late win eased Edel FC relegation concern as they now have 15 points with two games remaining in the Conference A fixtures.
Coach Ozonweke, a former Rangers defender during his playing days, admitted his players are short of experience because they were products of local clubs and football academies having not played in the NNL before.
He however heaped plaudits on them for what he described as their
'strong mentality and fight to the finish spirit'.

"I must tell you, it wasn't easy with me at the time score sheet was reading 1-1 and time fast flying away because so many things were going through my head", Coach Ozonweke began.

"This is  because if we had drawn this game, we would have reduced our chances of serving relegation and retaining our position in the NNL.

"But I still said well, let them (players) fight back, that anything can still happen, -- it's football, anything can happen, you never can say -- because in our last game here (against Crown FC, Ogbomoso), we scored in the 97th minute.

"So this boys, they have that 'strong spirit and mentality' of we must fight to the finish'. And that was what has paid off in the end".

A visibly relieved Ozonweke spoke of his players shortfall in terms of experience, saying it was because the players are new to the NNL games, having been recruited from grassroots clubs and academies.

"Most of these players are playing in the Nigeria National League for the first time in their careers", a soft-speaking Ozonweke continued.

"So, I think anxiety affected them because they know that this game was going to be tough. But I tried to calm them down right from the day we commenced preparation for this game. I told them to take the game like every other game in the league.

"Because most of the players are coming from the grassroots, I mean, football academies, and local clubs, they have not played in the league before, so, that needed experience is not yet there.
"But I still give it to them for the fight back to get the three points. It's big kudos to them for the fighting spirit and the win. I say a big kudos to them".

Reflecting on the 'Oriental Derby' clash, the Edel FC tactician disclosed that he knew it was going to be a 'win or bust' clash because both sides were tucked in the red zone of the NNL Conference A standings going into the clash.

"To be very honest with you, I expected it to be 100 per cent tough and rough. I expected it this way because these guys (Abia Comets) are playing with the last drop of their blood because they are in race against relegation.

"Of course, we, too, are playing with our last blood because we want to come out of the relegation waters. So, right from day one, I knew and expected that this game would even be harder than what we saw this afternoon".

With two games to climax their fixture schedules this term, a home win against Heartland and away game to Sunshine Stars, Ozonweke sounded that his team will aim to win all points available in the two games.

"Any team that come here, what we need is the three points, as simple as that. Before the match against Sunshine Stars, we will face Heartland. That's our next game. When we finish with Heartland, then we begin to talk about Sunshine Stars. But we need our three points and we're going to collect it with hard work and by the special grace of God".