Kwara United remain locked in a tense survival battle, but head coach Suleiman Ashifat has made it clear the Harmony Boys will not give up on their Nigeria Premier Football League status.
The Kwara United head coach spoke after a narrow 1–0 defeat to Abia Warriors in Sunday’s Matchday 27 clash in Aba, where Casmir Azubuike struck in the 29th minute to seal the contest.
Kwara United boss Ashifat backs survival push
Despite the setback, the Kwara boss believes their season can still be rescued. Ashifat stressed that with 11 matches left, the President Federation Cup holders still have enough time and points available to climb out of danger.
Reflecting on the campaign, the coach admitted it has been a difficult period for the Ilorin-based side.
“But we’ll get out of it. I have that belief. We’ll remain focused. It’s one of those things. You can see the kind of goal they scored against us today. It was just a mistake, but that’s part of football.
“We won’t be dampened. We’ll continue to push hard. We still have 33 points to fight for. We’re on it, and we’ll continue to fight to make sure that we leave the red zone.”
His message was clear — Kwara United are not conceding defeat in their fight against relegation.
Kwara United confronts goalkeeping errors and scoring woes
The decisive moment in Aba came after a costly mistake from goalkeeper Suraj Ayeleso, allowing Abia Warriors to capitalise.
It was the second consecutive home fixture in which an error has led to a goal, following a similar incident against Rivers United.
Ashifat admitted the back-to-back mistakes are worrying but pointed to the human side of the game.
He described the situation as a serious concern and acknowledged that such errors are not ideal. Still, he maintained that football is a game of mistakes and reminded observers that players are human.
He also backed his goalkeeper, noting that Ayeleso has been impressive overall, while promising the team would return to the training ground to correct the issues.
Beyond the defensive lapses, Kwara United also struggled in attack. Clear-cut chances were limited, and the coach did not hide from that reality.
“In today’s game, we couldn’t create enough scoring opportunities. Previously, we were creating chances but not converting them.
“Now, we’re not scoring much. That’s our major problem. Even the little opportunity we had today, if we were clinical enough, we should have converted it.
“It’s a serious concern, and we’ll continue to make corrections as we train and prepare for our next game.”