Team Jendol head coach Bonny Alinta has insisted that his side can build on their opening-day performance after playing out a 1-1 draw against Daily Manna Bakeries in the Island AllStars Sports Club PatrickLingo Super League Football Tournament at Lagos Business School.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Sports247, Alinta described the encounter as a reminder that matches are never decided until the final whistle, while expressing confidence in his team’s ability to improve as the competition progresses.
“What we witnessed today reflects the popular saying that no team should be written off and that a game is not over until the final whistle,” he said.
Despite being satisfied with the overall performance, the Team Jendol tactician acknowledged that his players still have considerable work to do, particularly in addressing tactical mistakes and improving their finishing in front of goal.
“We have seen that there is still a lot of work to do. We identified some tactical errors in our players’ performance, but I am satisfied with what they showed today,” Alinta explained.
The coach noted that the fixture was Team Jendol’s first match of the tournament, unlike some participating sides that began their campaigns the previous week. Against that background, he considered the point a reasonable return.
“This was our first match, while some other teams played their opening games last week. Considering where we are at the moment, I am comfortable with earning a point from our first match, and we will build on that in our subsequent games,” he stated.
Alinta also dismissed the suggestion that Team Jendol depends heavily on Chibuike, whom he described as a top striker for Island All-Stars but not the best player in his own club.
According to the coach, Team Jendol created more than seven chances and missed five clear-cut opportunities, with Chibuike among those who failed to convert.
He added that the team struck the crossbar twice and forced the opposition goalkeeper into several important saves, insisting that chance creation was not the problem.
“If we work on our finishing between now and our next game, we will start scoring goals,” he declared.
Looking ahead, Alinta warned that Wellborn Hotels, also known as Team A, could face a more clinical Team Jendol in their next fixture.
“They will bear the brunt of the errors we made today because we intend to correct those mistakes and come out stronger against our next opponents,” he concluded.
Team Jendol will now seek to turn their attacking promise into goals and secure their first victory of the competition.
