Ahead of the much-anticipated Oriental Derby between Rangers Int’l of Enugu and Heartland FC of Owerri, former players of the Owerri-based side have described the game as a feisty battle.
Speaking with Wakawaka Sports Extra ahead of the match day 7 fixture in the 2023 Nigeria Premier Football League billed to hold in Awka, they noted that it’s always a battle of supremacy between both states.
An Ex-player, Kevin Onwuna said that he always prepare very hard to be able to withstand the Rangers players while recalling one of the moments when he faced Christian Chukwu.
According to him; “In those days when we are going to play Rangers, I do a lot of individual training in order to overcome whatever obstacle because I always know that they will be after me and I will train to be fit to overcome all their problems.
“That match was between Rangers and Spartans in those days at the Dan Anyiam Stadium. I was coming with the ball and I saw that the ball has gone a little bit faster than myself and I saw Christian Chukwu approaching and he knew he wasn’t going to get the ball.
“What I did was to tap the ball and he missed it and he made sure he doesn’t allow me go for the ball, he cleverly tripped me inside the box and instead of the referee giving us a penalty he decided to warn him.”
Similarly, Evans Uzokwe recalled one of his best matches against Rangers, when the then Governor of Imo State, Sam Mbakwe motivated them to get the victory in Enugu.
He said the game between Heartland and Rangers is always a brotherly fight with the main target of protecting the image of the state adding that one cannot compare the football of then and now.
He said: “Anytime we have match with Rangers there is something extra because we want to protect and defend the image of Imo State because if two brothers play themselves who know each other, we bring something extra and put extra effort and at the end of the day, we get the result.
“Eventually we prepare fine to fight against Rangers because in the good old days, whenever you want to meet them, you have to do something extra because they have a lot of good materials.
“There was match we played against them in Enugu. When everybody thought we were going to lose that match. Our governor then, Sam Mbakwe came to our camp and told us to go and win that match that he would do a lot of things for us. As at then we were not looking after money. He came to our camp and addressed us to go and win the match.
“What I did was to call the governor and told him that most of these players are hungry. All you need is to give us something to eat and when we eat well and pay us the allowances you are owing us, we will not disappoint you and he assured us.
“I went to Enugu and that was the best matches I have played against Rangers. We went there and beat them 1-0. All the whole Imolites in Enugu were so happy. Those days football and now are not the same.”
