Kano Pillars head coach Daniel Ogunmodede says his team are gradually adapting to the pressure of playing in front of demanding home supporters after their 2-0 victory over Nasarawa United in week 11 of the EUROMATCH NPFL.
The result in Kano on Sunday extended Pillars’ unbeaten run to three matches and lifted them to fourth place in the table with 18 points.
Ibrahim Yahaya put the hosts in front in the 15th minute, while Fabian Nworie doubled their advantage 20 minutes into the second half.
Ogunmodede said the expectations of Kano Pillars’ supporters had created pressure for the players, even when they were in control of matches.
“Most of the time we play with so much pressure here. Obviously we want to win, our fans want us to win every game. We know what it means when we are leading 2-0 and they still want more,” he told reporters.
“But for me that is the kind of hunger I want from the spectators, from the players. The good thing is that we are adapting gradually to it.”
The coach also explained the tactical changes that helped his team overcome a Nasarawa United side who were third in the standings before the fixture.
“We played against a very good team, they were sitting third on the table before we played them. They were technically and tactically sound,” Ogunmodede said.
“In the first 20 minutes of the game we tried to use our wing backs inverting and that created a lot of confusion for their full backs and it gave us enough space in the central areas of the field and we had a couple of chances which we should have taken one of them.”
Kano Pillars adjusted their approach after the interval, looking to attack through the wider areas. Ogunmodede felt the change created enough opportunities for his side to have won by a wider margin.
“In the second half we came with the plan of trying to exploit wide areas and I think in the second half we deserve to score maybe three or more goals but unfortunately we were a little bit wasteful,” he added.
“Nasarawa are a compact team, a team that deserves a lot but we were absolutely ready for them.”
Ogunmodede said the victory was important not only for Kano Pillars’ position in the table but also for easing pressure around the club.
“We knew what it means to win this match, because it boosts our position in the table, it will calm down the nerves of our fans and also cool the pressure on the players,” he said.
“So I’m happy we got the maximum three points and not just the three points but with a clean sheet.”