Remo Stars captain Victor Mbaoma has expressed relief and optimism following his side’s hard-fought 2–1 victory over Nasarawa United at the Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne over the weekend.
The tense Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) encounter saw the Sky Blue Stars keep their survival hopes alive, with goals from Stanley Joseph and Michael Ibe securing all three points for the hosts.
Although Mbaoma, the club’s leading scorer this season, did not find the back of the net, the forward insisted that the team’s collective success matters more than individual goals.
In this exclusive interview with PREMIUM TIMES, the Remo Stars captain speaks about the significance of the victory, the team’s fight against relegation, and the mindset driving the squad as the season approaches its decisive stage.
Excerpts:
PT: Congratulations on the massive win for your team today. As the captain, how do you feel about this victory?
Mbaoma: I feel very happy. It’s a very good thing for us to win, because we can’t afford to lose this match, given where we find ourselves on the table. So I’m very happy about it.
PT: You’re currently Remo Stars’ top scorer, leading from the front with goals, but you didn’t get on the scoresheet today. How important was it that your teammates stepped up in your absence?
Mbaoma: It’s not really important. If I score and we don’t win, it’s not important. I want the team to always come first. It’s very important for the team to win. If they have to score for us to win, it’s very fine by me. I don’t have any kind of issues with that.
PT: How did you feel when the game was 1-1 with eight minutes left and some fans had already started leaving the stadium?
Mbaoma: It was very tense. But we were still trying our best, and we are very grateful to God that we got the winner a few minutes later.
PT: Looking ahead, how important is this win for Remo Stars in the context of the season?
Mbaoma: We have to use this to do our best to win our next game because it’s very important. We will do our best, and we hope that it all works out well.
PT: For the Sky Blue Stars to avoid relegation, you may need to win most of your remaining home games. Do you see that happening?
Mbaoma: Yeah. We will keep trying our best. We are very, very positive that we can beat the drop. We have the talent and the personnel to do it. We hope that things work out well for us.
With the crucial victory, Remo Stars remain firmly in the fight to escape the relegation zone.
Mbaoma’s leadership on and off the pitch continues to inspire the Sky Blue Stars as they navigate one of the most critical periods in the club’s recent history.