Rivers United, Shakarau Babes clash in Shehu Dikko Cup opener

By Esther Egbe

Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) club, Rivers United will officially commence the third phase of pre-season FC on Thursday when they face Shekarau Babes FC in the opening match of the 2016 Shehu Dikko Annual Football tournament in Kaduna.

The game between United and the Kano-based outfit kicks off at 4pm at the Kaduna Township Stadium. The tournament represents the first the ‘Pride of Rivers’ will be participating in since pre-season exertions began on November 1.

Technical manager of United, Stanley Eguma told National Daily newspaper that the tournament in Kaduna will help him ascertain the physical and technical levels reached by his charges after 30 days of pre-season.

Tm said that  pre-season tournament in Kaduna is also expected to sharpen the competitive edge of the team ahead of the 2016/2017season.

“We have not really gotten there (to our desired level) but I am very impressed with the way the boys have responded to our methods Stanley explained “.

“We hope my boys  continue on this path but I must state here that we cannot draw any conclusions on anything at this stage of the season.

“I however know that we have very good crop of players and I hope we can create a good team out of what we have,” Eguma told National Daily.

Club captain, Festus Austin also spoke about the work done so far in pre-season, expressing confidence in United’s ability to compete effectively on three fronts in the upcoming campaign.

Rivers United will represent Nigeria in the 2017 Caf Champions League.