Rivers United head coach Finidi George says his players battled psychological fatigue during their hard-fought 1–0 victory over Kano Pillars in a rescheduled NPFL matchday 15 fixture on Wednesday night in Port Harcourt.
Boluwaji Sholumade scored the decisive goal in the 88th minute, lifting Rivers United to third place on the table with 26 points from 13 matches and two games in hand.
Speaking after the game, Finidi admitted the recent 1–2 CAF Champions League defeat to RS Berkane in Uyo weighed heavily on the squad:“It was a difficult game. Coming from that loss, it affected the players psychologically. You could see in the first half they were a little sloppy.” 
He praised the team’s second-half response:“They pushed, and luckily for us, we got the goal. We’re happy with the three points.”
Next up, Rivers United travel to Umuahia for a matchday 16 clash against sixth-placed Abia Warriors on Sunday, December 7.