NPFL Matchday 6: 10-man Insurance Draw Against Bayelsa Utd

Bendel Insurance Football club were on Saturday, September 27,2025 forced to a 1-1 draw by struggling Bayelsa Utd and missed the opportunity to get their second victory in the current season of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL.
The Benin Arsenals started the Match Day 6 of the season brightly, looking determined and good enough to get the maximum points in the South South derby at the famous Samuel Ogbermudia stadium but their plans for the execution got punctured when their central defender Henry Oyian was sent off the pitch for unruly behaviour.
It was a taste of sweet and sour experience for Insurance as the unfortunate incident occurred after their super striker Kayode Oke broke the deadluck in the second minute of the four minutes extra time before halftime break.
Bendel Insurance last season’s highest goals scorer Oke Kayode broke the jinx of goal scoring difficulty in this season when he smartly converted a spot kick in the 47th minute of play to give his side a deserved lead but the celebration was shortlived when Henry Oyian was shown the exit door with a straight red card a minute later, following his unnecessary fight with Bayelsa player.
The center referee had awarded a penalty kick to Insurance when Tobi Iyanda was harshly brought down by Bayelsa defender in the box.
Insurance coach Greg Ikhenoba had to substitute winger Chinedu Nwosu for Dennis Chigozie immediately after the unfortunate incident and managed the entire second half with the 10-man team as the visitors forced a 1-1 draw after Mustapha Jawad’s long-range strike in the 53rd minute had caught goalkeeper Bamidele Adeniyi knapping.
The Benin Arsenals later got their confidence back after the introduction of
Arunta Elmer and Uyiosa Odia for Austin Osayande and Nnamdi Anthony in the 73rd minute, putting more pressure on the visitors but their efforts could not produce any more goals.
Bendel Insurance now have six points from six matches and will be at home again in the match Day 7 which is against Nasarawa utd on Saturday,October 4.
The Benin Arsenals drew their first home match 1-1 with Shooting Stars and pulled the same 1-1 scoreline in Kano against FC Barau the following weekend before they recorded their first victory against Niger Tornadoes on September 13 at the Samuel Ogbermudia They lost their first match of the season 2-0 to Elkanemi Warriors in Maiduguri on Sunday,August 24,2025 and narrowly missed another away point at Enyimba FC last week after the former league and CAF champions came from behind twice to win the match day 5 3-2.
In the post match interview, the head coach of Bendel Insurance FC Greg Ikhenoba admitted that the red card incident affected his plan but also rued missed chances.
” That is part of the football experience. Sometimes with ten men you still win a game but we were unlucky to get the full points. We created a lot of chances but putting it at the back of the net is still difficult for our strikers. They made good attempts today but the goals still did not come as expected. We will keep working on it and I believe the goals will start coming.”