Enyimba coach Finidi George has encouraged winger Joseph Atule to maintain his impressive performance as the season comes to an end, after his outstanding display in their 5-0 defeat of rivals Kano Pillars in Aba on Wednesday, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Atule scored two goals in the Nigeria Premier Football League match-day 28 encounter, netting once in each half as the champions humiliated their visitors and moved to second in the table with 48 points, just three points behind leaders Enugu Rangers.
Before Wednesday, Atule had only scored one league goal and provided three assists for the Aba giants in 25 league appearances, a contrasting statistic for the ever-present winger who was signed from Lobi Stars at the end of last season.
His only goal before the brace was scored in their 2-1 win over Bendel Insurance last November, which took him about 10 games in all competitions to achieve, and then another five months (20 games) before he scored again.
Finidi praised the player for his contributions and emphasized his importance to their title challenge.
“This is when we need those goals and he is responding. I’m quite happy with him and will continue to encourage him to do more. I know this is the Atule we bought. It has taken him so much time to reach that form so I hope he can give us this same form in the run into the end of the season,” Finidi said after the game.
The Aba giants are pursuing their record-extending 10th NPFL title and their next challenge is against Atule’s former team, Lobi Stars in Lafia on Sunday.
“We want to go there and win and I hope we get the result,” Finidi added.
