Ozebagbe Outlines Defensive Blueprint to Stop Conceding for Ikorodu City

Ikorodu City FC coach Bright Ozebagbe has revealed his strategy for reducing goals conceded in the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL). According to Ozebagbe, his focus is on eliminating sloppy errors, winning second balls, and maintaining concentration throughout matches, especially in defence.

“We need concentration, to win the second balls, and to avoid making sloppy errors. These are areas we worked on after our first game in Katsina.” He emphasised that each match is unique and requires a tailored game plan rather than a one size fits all approach.

Ozebagbe also noted the importance of midfielders and defenders being alert to transitions, and not giving opponents easy advantages through momentary lapses of focus. He described his team’s recent goalless draw away as a positive marker of the defensive discipline he is building.

Editorial

In the unforgiving terrain of the NPFL, where defences are patched hastily and concentration often frays under pressure, Bright Ozebagbe’s public articulation of defensive strategy is a welcome rarity. He acknowledges what too many teams treat as afterthoughts second balls, transitions, mental lapses and gives them primacy.

Conceding goals in the NPFL is symptomatic of lost focus, of structure unravelled, of moments unclaimed. Ozebagbe’s three-pronged strategy is not glamorous, but it might well be effective. In a league that rewards urgency and punishes mistakes, the elimination of error becomes as important as the creation of chance.

“We need concentration, to win the second balls, and to avoid making sloppy errors.”

That statement reveals a coach aware of his environment. Ikorodu City, a club still noting its place among the league’s elite, cannot afford glossy ambitions without solid foundations. Ozebagbe’s message to his squad that each game is different, each opponent unique, each error avoidable – aligns with the kind of pragmatism that sustains seasons.

This defensive blueprint also has implications beyond the back line. When defenders are trusted, when midfielders know their trigger points, and when concentration becomes the norm, attack gains freedom. This is football in balance. For Nigerian football, the lesson is clear: ambition must be anchored in structure. A coach who knows how not to concede is often the one whose team eventually knows how to win.

If Ikorodu can stabilise their defence, the league table may follow. But as always, the burden lies in replication and endurance, not merely articulation. The idea is sound. The execution will determine the story.

Did You Know?

1. Ikorodu City lifted promotion to the NPFL in the 2022/23 season under Bright Ozebagbe’s initial tenure.
2. The “second ball” often overlooked by domestic teams – refers to the follow-up action after an aerial duel, loose clearance or rebounded shot; winning it is key to defensive control.
3. During their historic 0-0 draw away at Kwara United FC in Matchday 3 of 2024/25, Ozebagbe credited his team’s rare clean sheet to concentration and cautious preparation.
4. Ikorodu City’s home ground is the Mobolaji Johnson Arena in Lagos, which holds just over 10,000 spectators, making defensive solidity vital given limited margins.
5. In the NPFL, data shows that teams that reduce their “sloppy errors” (own goals, mis-passes in defence, conceded second-phase attacks) by even one per match can improve survival chances by approximately 10 %.