The ‘Flying Antelopes’, Rangers International F.C will midweek, December 6, 2023, seek to get back to winning ways with a visit to Jos, the Tin City, for a match day 12, NPFL 2023 encounter against Plateau United complete with the immediate past chief coach of Rangers, Mbwas Mangut just as the host, will have to grapple with their former technical adviser, Fidelis Ilechukwu who is leading the Coal City side.
With fifteen points from ten matches played thus far in the ongoing season, coach Ilechukwu and his assistants have done the needful to get a good result in Jos to keep up the chase on the leading pack in the twenty team log.
With the expected return from injury of the likes of Isaac Saviour, Kalu Nweke, Godwin Obaje, and Ifeanyi Ogba to justle for places in the match day squad of coach Ilechukwu, there is a lot of hope going into this encounter for the seven-time Nigeria league champions.
In the 2021/2022 season, the Jos side, under coach Ilechukwu, did a double over Rangers winning 1-0 in Nnewi and 4-0 at the New Jos Stadium and this midweek’s fixture will see the Nnewi born tactician turn the tide in his team’s favor after resting from the 1-0 loss his side suffered in Umuahia in a match day 10, encounter to fierce neighbors, Abia Warriors.
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Coach Ilechukwu, who would not want to talk on the coming fixture, simply said, “I have a tough task in my hands and would want to fully concentrate on getting the job done on the pitch rather than talking on the pages of the newspapers. We are going to Jos to ruffle some feathers. We want to turn the difficult curve right there in Jos.”
Also speaking, captain of the side, Chukwudi Nwaodu, said, “I believe we have a difficult match in our hand at a challenging moment in the season but we have what it takes to get the needed result to put our title hopes back on track.”
With Rangers currently occupying the 9th spot on the log and boasting of the second most lethal attacking squad, the Enugu side sure have their works cut out in this battle of winners in 2016 and 2017 league campaigns just as the host, who are on 12th spot would be banking on some former Rangers players like, Sam Pam, Doyeni Olawale and Bamidele Adeniyi to lead their charge with the able support of Daniel Itodo, Moses Adikwu and a host of others.
In their last thirteen meetings, it had ended six wins apiece with one game ending in a draw just as these encounters had produced twenty-three goals with the ‘Tin City’ side enjoying a slight edge with thirteen goals scored as against ten by the ‘Coal City’ side. Of these encounters, seven had taken place in Jos with six at the home of Rangers just as the ‘Flying Antelopes’ have secured two wins in Jos against a solitary win for the ‘Peace Boys’ in Nnewi, the adopted home ground of Rangers.