Coach Evans Ogenyi of Lobi Stars FC of Makurdi has blamed his team’s 0-1 away loss to Heartland of Owerri on poor officiating.

“I lost to the referees, I didn’t lose to Heartland,” Ogenyi told newsmen after the match at the Dan Anyiam Stadium, Owerri.

He urged referees to allow the game of football to grow in Nigeria to create better opportunities for the players and coaches.

“Today I lost to the referees; you journalists are partners in progress, publish it and let football grow in Nigeria,’’ Ogenyi said.

Heartland’s coach Kelechi Emeteole admitted that his team lost grip of the game in the first half, only to struggle at the end.

“We lost grip of the match in the first half, threw away close to six goals, only for us to start struggling at the end. I cannot say what went wrong.

“I can say this is sort of a make-shift team if you look at their performance,’’ he said.

Emeteole, however, said that most of the regulars were benched so that they would not break down.

“I decided to bench some players who have been overworked, so that we don’t break them down,’’ he said.

He said the team would play home against 3SC of Ibadan tomorrow and against El-Kanemi Warriors of Borno on Wednesday in Zaria in the FA Cup competition.

“I am managing them, win is win; we are managing the team so that we don’t break the players down.’’

Bello Kofarmata scored the only goal of the match from a re-bound after his penalty kick was blocked by Lobi Stars’ goalkeeper in the 47th minute.