The Dan Anyiam Stadium, Owerri, Imo state will literally be set on fire come Friday, January 21, 2022, as the two most followed club sides east of the Niger, if not the entire country, square off in a matchday 7, NPFL 2021/2022 fixture in another ‘Oriental Derby’ with the three points at stake very vital to the realization of their set targets at the start of the season.
Heartland ‘Naze Millionaire’ will be working to annex all three points at stake to better their position on the log and claim bragging rights just as Rangers under coach Abdul Maikaba will want to maintain the rich form it currently enjoys that has seen the ‘Flying Antelopes’ earn valuable results on the road this term.
Whenever both sides clash at any venue, it is always a show-stopper display and an end-to-end action-packed encounter and this one will not be different as coach Maikaba storms Owerri with his high flying squad for the maximum points at stake.
With the trio of Charles Tiesso, Kenechukwu Agu, and Ugochukwu Ugwuoke dictating the pace in the middle of the pack to provide coverage for the backline and devastating passes upfront for the likes of Chidiebere Nwobodo, Elijah Ani, Ossy Martins, and Christian Nnaji to do the damage, the ‘Flying Antelopes’ look set to celebrate another point on the road.
For coach Hassan Abdallah, a former ‘Flying Antelope’ in his active days as a player, he will be relying on the likes of Godwin Paul to stop the expected bombardment from the visitors’ attackers while deploying the quartet of Chukwudi Nwaodu, Nonso Nzediegwu, Chijioke Mbaoma, and Jonas Emmanuel to ruffle the solid back of the visiting side just as much defending is expected from the likes of Andrew Abalogu, Solomon Moses, Victor Awoji and Jimoh Gbadamosi for the home side.
Last season, Heartland smiled away with a 2-1 victory on July 18, 2021, as an answer to an earlier 2-0 loss suffered in Enugu on February 28, 2021, while the last time Rangers enjoyed a win in Owerri was in the Aiteo cup winning the year of 2018 when the encounter ended 0-1 in favor of the visitors and going further down the lane, in the last twenty-three encounters between both teams, Heartland emerged winners in eleven while Rangers had ten wins while two fixtures ended in draws.
Captain of Rangers, Tope Olusesi said ahead of the match, “We expect a tough match in Owerri but with our focus on the three points at stake. Heartland is a very good side but we are not bad either, we respect them but we shall stick to our game plan to ensure we leave the stadium with our heads held high.”
For coach Abdul Maikaba, he said, “I think we are going for a win in the match against Heartland in Owerri because what normally becomes a disadvantage to most Nigeria club sides is distance. When you travel long distances, it’s difficult to play but Owerri is only two hours, I believe that my players will be fresh to play football and challenge for the three points at stake.”
Heading into this fixture, Rangers are occupying the 3rd place on the twenty team log with eleven points earned from three wins, two draws, and a loss scoring nine times and leaking three goals while the host, Heartland are in the 12th position with seven points earned from two wins, a draw, and three losses, scoring five goals and conceding ten after six round of matches in the season.
In the last five fixtures, the form of Rangers runs thus; W, D, W, D, L while Heartland’s form is; L, W, L, W, L.
Next up for the Enugu landlords will be a matchday 8 fixture with high-flying and table-topping Remo Stars F.C of Ikene complete with coach Olugbenga Ogunbote who led Rangers to the 2018 Aiteo cup triumph in the now christened, ‘Asaba Miracle’ at the adopted home ground of F.C.I.U stadium, Nnewi on Wednesday, January 26, 2022.
Some results from past encounters between the year 2015 and 2021 between both sides are:
18/07/2021 – Heartland 2 – 1 Rangers Int’L
28/02/2021 = Rangers Int’L 2-0 Heartland
05/01/2020 = Heartland 2-1 Rangers Int’L
10/06/2018 = Rangers Int’L 1-0 Heartland
21/01/2018 = Heartland 0-1 Rangers Int’L
05/06/2016 = Heartland 1-2 Rangers Int’L
20/05/2016 = Rangers Int’L 0-0 Heartland
06/09/2015 = Heartland 2-0 Rangers Int’L
10/05/2015 = Rangers Int’L 1-0 Heartland
