Robert Mirzo was one of the three contenders for the golden boot in the abridged 2022/23 season of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL), running neck-and-neck with Osarenkho Imade of Bendel Insurance, and eventual winner, Chukwuemeka Obioma of Enyimba.
Mirzo was a surprise in the race as his Bayelsa United side struggled to stay in the top league especially after they were ducked three points and three goals for fans incident early in the season.
Obioma would finish with 16 goals including those scored in the championship playoff which Mirzo’s team didn’t participate in. Mirzo had nine to beat Imade to the second top scorer position.
It thus was no surprise this time when on Matchday 1, he shot off the block with a blistering hat trick in a tricky tie against former champions, Akwa United in an eight goals thriller.
It was a confidence boosting performance to the start of the season and for Mirzo, it was an opportunity to talk up his club, declaring their Samson Siasia Stadium ground as a no go area for visiting teams to pick a point.
Bayelsa United had come back thrice to beat Akwa United 5-3 in the season’s opener and it was Mirzo who stole the show as he netted three of the five goals scored by the home team.
In the aftermath of his command performance in the game, Mirzo warned that Bayelsa United can achieve success in the just started season by picking points from away games through either a win or draw and winning all their home matches.
Post match in Yenegoa, the player declared, “This is our ground and I don’t think any team can come here and defeat us.
“We can go away and get a win or draw and come back home to defeat whoever comes here,”
Bayelsa United would be away to Doma United in Gombe and it will be the first test for Mirzo’s boast of a sparkling on the road results.
Source: NPFL Media
