The Heartland FC coach, Emmanuel Amuneke, had attributed his team’s narrow 1-0 victory over Crown FC to effectiveness
Though the single goal , had secured three points for heartland,but could not mask lager as promotion had slipped through their fingers.
Speaking during a post match interview at the Dan Anyiam Stadium Owerri, Saturday
Amuneke who congratulated his boys for the fight said they showed heart to get that goal and win the match.
” We must look at the entire season, not just today’s match. The truth is, we missed promotion based on our performance in the first stanza.
“Football is a simple game in its objective, you must score goals. To score, you must be effective and clinical.
“In that first stanza of the season, we were not. We created chances, yes, many chances. But we were not effective. We were not clinical.
“We left points on the pitch because we could not convert our dominance into goals. And as I always say, it is goals that enable a team to earn position and points on the table. Without them, you have nothing.
“Today, you saw what happened at the 2nd half of the game.The goal we scored came because in that moment, we were effective. We took the one clear chance we had. That is what we needed to do all along.
“I must be honest. In that first stanza, we made lots of mistakes. Tactical mistakes, individual mistakes, lapses in concentration.
“We were not the ruthless team we needed to be. We gave away cheap points. We have to own that.
“What I am proud of is that those mistakes were corrected in the second stanza.
“You saw a more organized, more determined team. We tightened up, we fought for every ball, and we started converting some of our opportunities.
“The improvement was clear. But the points we dropped earlier, the goals we failed to score when it mattered most, they created a gap we could not close, even with a strong finish.
“So, we take this victory today, but we learn the hard lesson. Promotion is built over the entire season, goal by goal, point by point”. He concluded
