Rivers United continued their strong run of form by lifting the Rivers State FA Cup after a convincing 3–0 win over Willbros FC at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium.
The Nigeria Premier Football League side showed patience before pulling away late in the game, with three second-half goals sealing the trophy in front of their supporters.
Rivers United lift FA Cup with late dominance
The final started with both sides showing intensity, but neither could break the deadlock in the first half. Willbros FC matched Rivers United in energy and organisation, making it difficult for the NPFL side to find rhythm early on.
However, after the restart, Rivers United stepped up their tempo and control of the game. Their pressure eventually paid off in the 71st minute when Chinedu Sunday opened the scoring. The breakthrough shifted momentum fully in their favour.
Wisdom Samuel added the second goal after coming off the bench, finishing calmly from a well-placed cross. Deep into stoppage time, Handsome Surveyor completed the victory with the third goal, continuing his fine scoring form in recent matches.
The result ensured back-to-back Rivers State FA Cup final victories over Willbros FC for Rivers United, further underlining their dominance in the competition.
Finidi George demands consistency ahead of NPFL test
After the win, Rivers United coach Finidi George expressed satisfaction with the performance and highlighted the importance of carrying the same attacking mindset into upcoming league fixtures.
Speaking on the team’s approach, he said:
“We are quite happy with the victory. The FA Cup is always important in the States. You have to win it before you go to the national level.
So we are quite happy. In the first half, we didn’t push that much. But I think in the second half, we came all out.
We pressed them high and forced them to make mistakes. At the end of the day, we had that opening, which gave us that lead. And then the second and third goals came.”
Looking ahead to their NPFL clash against Abia Warriors, Finidi stressed the need for continued attacking improvement.
“It’s good to have a victory before that important match next weekend. We scored three goals, so I hope we can replicate that against Abia Warriors. I’m not saying it’s going to be 3-0, but it would be nice for us to score more than one goal.
The form, the goal-scoring form, has been good in these three games we played this week. Let’s see how we can replicate that against Abia Warriors.
It’s not going to be an easy match. We have to work hard. We have at least six days to prepare the boys properly for that encounter.”
Confidence grows as attacking form improves
One of the standout talking points from the win was the continued form of Handsome Surveyor, who has now scored five goals in his last four matches.
Finidi praised the forward’s progress while also managing expectations ahead of tougher fixtures.
“He waited for his time, and I think everything is working for him. We hope he can bring that A-game against Abia Warriors. In football, goalscoring is all about effort and luck.
So luck is on his side. We hope he will be lucky that day to get us one or two goals. We will continue to encourage him and let him recover fully because he has played three matches in one week.
So we will make sure he recovers fully for that game.”
With momentum building and confidence high, Rivers United will now turn their attention to maintaining their scoring form as they prepare for a challenging NPFL encounter.