Bendel Insurance played a 1-1 draw with their visitors, Kwara United at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City on Saturday in the presence of Edo state governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki.
The presence of Governor Obaseki didn’t stop Kwara United from mounting persisted pressure on their hosts. The visitors’ efforts paid off in the 68th minute when they stunned the home fans with the opener.
Interestingly, Kwara United’s opener caused a resurgence in the home team as E. U. Deputy scored the equalizer for Bendel Insurance in the 78th minute, 10 minutes after the visitors had taken the lead.
Afterward, the two sides couldn’t score more goals so the game ended in a 1-1 draw. The draw was enough for Bendel to maintain their 13 games unbeaten run. They remain top of Group A with 27 points in 13 games, five points above second-placed Akwa United who still has a game in hand.
Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki (left), with his Deputy, Rt. Hon. Comrade Philip Shaibu, during the Bendel Insurance Football Club Match Day 13 against visiting Kwara United, at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City, on Saturday, April 8, 2023.
After the 1-1 draw, the Edo State Governor, commended the performance of the state-owned team while noting that the home team ought to have grabbed the three maximum points.
The governor said, “It was an exciting game which the home team ought to have won as they dominated the game and showed more superiority, but were not lucky in terms of goals. We were not as fortunate as we expected to be.
“They have done well. This is their 13th match and they are unbeaten. They drew at home but we expected them to win their performance was encouraging. The idea today is to invite Edo State citizens to come out and support their home team and recreate that culture of coming out to watch matches.
“We are not wrong in choosing sports as our priority back in 2016 when we were campaigning. I said sports will be a major area of focus and that the Deputy Governor will lead our initiative in sports. Thank God we did not make a mistake as these facilities were not in existence in 2016 in this form but today we have world-class facilities that can host world events. Our priority is to put this facility to use, ensuring we host more events here.
“The tartan tracks you are standing on are certified and have the same quality of tracks used in the last Olympics. Our priority now is to get our citizens to take advantage of the investment we have made in sports and utilize these facilities and encourage school sports to catch our children young and also to encourage them to do more sporting activities.
“That was why I attended inter-house sports activities for primary school. We will do more of this to let parents know that it’s important to keep our children physically, mentally, and spiritually fit.”
