Sporting Lagos head coach Jeffrey Buter has attributed his side’s 2-0 defeat to Abia Warriors to costly mistakes that exposed them to counterattacks in Sunday’s Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) clash at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Nigeriasoccernet.com reports.
The Lagos-based side controlled significant portions of the encounter but were unable to turn their pressure into goals before Abia Warriors struck twice in the closing stages to secure all three points.
Speaking after the game, Buter admitted that losing at home was frustrating, particularly with the team failing to reward their supporters with a result.
“It’s always disappointing to lose, especially in front of the home supporters. But I think we had a really good game,” Buter said.
“We were trying to find goals and had to push forward players up the pitch, which led to two mistakes and two goals conceded on the counter.”
The Sporting Lagos coach identified two individual errors as the key moments that changed the outcome of the match.
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“I think it went wrong with two actions. Aliu loses the ball, and they hit us on the break, then Stanley loses the ball, and they hit us on the break—otherwise, we had control of the game. We were more threatening and looked like we were going to score.”
Buter also addressed his substitutions during the encounter, accepting that the changes could be questioned after the final result while maintaining that they were made with the circumstances of the match in mind.
“In hindsight, maybe you think substitutions could have been different, but with the way the game was going, that was the right thing we felt in that moment. So, it’s football.”
The defeat leaves Sporting Lagos with more work to do as they continue their campaign, while Abia Warriors picked up an important away victory to boost their early-season hopes.