NNL: Maximum point of each match remains our target– Amuneke
By Athan Agbakwuru, Owerri
Technical Manager of Heartland FC of Owerri, Emmanuel Amuneke has expressed confidence in the ability of his players despite occasional shortcomings saying the team’s target is collecting the three points of each match in the ongoing 2026 NNL season.
Amuneke who spoke to sports writers during a post-match interview, immediately after Heartland FC humbled visiting Abia Comets with 2-1 win at the Dan Anyiam Stadium, Owerri at the weekend noted with delight that the team recorded the home victory despite the dogged fighting spirit of the Abia side.
The gaffer who admitted that the first half of the NNLMatchDay 11 was not a good one for the Naze Millionaires blamed the 6th minute Comets’ goal on loss of concentration but praised the boys for restoring the pride of the team with an equalizer and a winning goal.
His words, “In this league, our objective is to always make sure we get our three(3) points and we have achieved that today. Sometimes, you don’t have to be dominant throughout the whole game to win.
“We were able to equalize the game and we’re able to rally round to score the second goal and we defended very well to win. In fact we played a very good team. You can’t take that credit away from them.
Meanwhile the match played under clement weather saw the visiting Abia Comets enter the pitch with utmost desperation to retaliate the earlier 3-1 humiliation they suffered in the hands of Heartland during their first leg in Aba.
The visitors drew their first blood as early as the 6th minute when Sugh Daniel capitalised on Heartland’s defensive lapse to give Abia Comets the early lead and momentarily silencing the home supporters.
However, Heartland did not hesitate to respond with the need of urgency by dominating possession and probing relentlessly for an equalizer with several scoring chances lost to poor finishing.
However, despite creating several promising openings, the Naze Millionaires were unable to breach the visitors’ defence before halftime, and they went into the break trailing 1–0.
As soon as the game restarted, the tempo of the game changed almost immediately with a new acquisition, Francis Erikan who made an immediate impact, restoring parity in the 48th minute with a composed finish.
The Naze millionaires’ persistence paid off in the 65th minute when substitute, Jonathan Osondu completed the turnaround, slotting home to send the Owerri faithful into wild celebrations.
The goal proved decisive as Heartland held firm in the closing stages to secure all three points and moves Heartland FC to the 5th position on the league table
As they observe a bye this weekend, attention quickly shifts to crucial back-to-back home fixtures against Sunshine Stars F.C. and Smart City F.C., where they will aim to sustain their momentum.
