Rivers United technical adviser Finidi George believes his side have put themselves in a strong position to advance in the CAF Champions League after securing a 1-1 draw away to San Pedro.
The Port Harcourt club came from behind to hold the Ivorian side at the Laurent Pokou Stadium on Sunday in the first leg of their first preliminary round tie.
San Pedro took the lead four minutes before half time when Issouf Dosso headed home following a swift counter-attacking move.
Rivers United responded after the break, with substitute Iyowuna Douglas restoring parity in the 69th minute to ensure Finidi’s men returned to Nigeria with a valuable result.
Finidi believes avoiding defeat in Côte d’Ivoire was one of the key objectives before the match, making the draw a result he was happy to accept.
“I said it yesterday that we wanted to have a good game and not lose here. It could have been 0-0 or 1-1, and the game ended 1-1. So, not losing here is not a bad result. It’s good,” Finidi said.
The former Super Eagles head coach felt the opening half was largely balanced, with neither side creating enough clear opportunities.
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However, San Pedro’s goal forced Rivers United to change their approach after the interval.
“If you look at the game, in the first half, there was not much created by both teams. The game was a bit balanced, but in the second half, after they scored, we tried to bring some new energy into the team.”
Finidi admitted Rivers United became too defensive towards the end after Douglas’ equaliser, but insisted the return fixture would be approached differently.
“I think after we got the equaliser, we dropped too deep towards the end. But in Nigeria, it is going to be a different ball game. We are going to approach the game differently.”
The first leg also allowed Rivers United to get a closer look at the qualities of their Ivorian opponents.
Finidi acknowledged San Pedro’s youthful energy and technical ability but believes playing the second leg in Nigeria gives Rivers United the edge.
“We tried to see what they were doing and assess their capacity. Like I said, the game was balanced. But we knew they were a very good team, a young team full of energy, so we knew it was going to be a difficult game.”
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The Rivers United technical adviser is now confident that his team can produce a stronger performance on home soil.
“But if we could get a good result by not losing here, I think my team will play differently in Nigeria. So, I would say it is going to be 60-40 in our favour in Nigeria.”
The 1-1 result means Rivers United return to Nigeria knowing a victory in the second leg will send them into the next round.
The draw also gives Finidi’s side the benefit of playing the decisive encounter on home soil, while San Pedro must now find a way to score in Nigeria if they are to progress.
