HomeSports A time Enyimba need prayers and not pity
A time Enyimba need prayers and not pity
Written by Patrick Omorodion
Saturday, 11 October 2008
For the second time in the life of Enyimba Football Club of Aba, Chairman of the club, Felix Anyansi-Agwu, looking unruffled after a bad outing at their Aba base, told their fans not to weep for the team. And on the two occasions, the games were against the mighty Egyptian side, Al Ahly of Cairo.
Emyinba
The first time was in 2005 when the Aba boys were making their third attempt at the Cup which then Governor, Orji Uzor Kalu said God told him Enyimba would win for keeps. They actually began well, drawing 1-1 with Ajax Cape Town of South Africa.
The draw gave all Aba football fans and the club’s supporters the assurance that the governor must have heard from God about Enyimba’s chances of lifting the trophy for a record three times in a row. So when Al Ahly came visiting the dreaded Aba Township Stadium, all looked forward to the roasting of the Egyptians like Enyimba did to their compatriots, Ismaili FC two years earlier on their way to winning the trophy for the first time. The same Ismaili had humiliated the Nigerians 6-1 in the first leg but they got repaid 4-2 in the return leg.
The Aba fans were really bemused when their darling team played as if they had big stones tied to their legs as Al Ahly players tossed the ball around, at times making attempts to score but withdrawing again to the middle until they stung Enyimba with a painful 1-0.
The fans and their club officials walked away with their tails tucked in between their legs. The club Chairman, Anyansi-Agwu was courageous to tell the fans not to weep for the club as they were capable of picking their pieces and hitting the semi-final again like they did in the previous two editions. That prophecy did not come to pass as the team failed to make it from their group.
Anyansi-Agwu is again making the plea that nobody should cry for the Aba Elephants because “this is the type of situation that brings out the best of Enyimba. I know that our away record has not been impressive but we shall survive. The Spartan spirit of Enyimba will see us through.”
The 2005 loss to Al Ahly was in the group stage but this time around, the 0-0 draw is happening in the semi-final. In Enyimba’s two previous semi-finals in 2003 and 2004, the team never lost a match. In 2003, they held USMA of Algeria to a 1-1 draw in Algiers and beat them 2-1 in Aba. In 2004, they again faced with a north African opposition and drew 1-1 with Etoile du Sahel of Tunisia, a result which made Nigerians to give them very slim hope of making it through to the final. They fought like the true Elephants they are and battled their host to a 1-1 draw in Sousse.
In the ensuing penalty shoot-out, Enyimba triumphed 6-5 to set the stage for another Tunisian opposition, Esperance in the final which they again won via penalties, 5-3 after both sides had won 2-1 on home soil.
In those years, Enyimba were a force to reckon with even in away matches especially against the dreaded north African teams. Anyansi-Agwu’s plea that Nigerians should not weep for Enyimba therefore should not be dismissed with a wave of the hand but should be taken seriously as they really need prayers this time and not pity.
Al Ahly are a tough side but not truly invincible as proved by the Ivorian champions, ASEC of Abidjan who almost beat them in Cairo before they settled for a 2-2 draw. If ASEC could pull a score draw in Al Ahly base, what stops Enyimba from doing the same? Even if the encounter ends in a barren draw like the Aba tie, a penalty shoot-out could go either side.
At the group stage, Al Ahly conceded goals in all their home matches and so who says Enyimba cannot score against them too. The only fear Nigerians have now is the outcome of their three away group matches where the Aba side ‘swallowed’ nine goals.
But like Anyansi-Agwu told the BBC during the week, Enyimba should not be written off because he said he feels that they can beat the Egyptians and reach the final.
This thought is also shared by the man who took the club to her first continental title in 2003, Kadiri Ikhana who believes the table can still be turned against the five-time Champions League kings as he recalled how his 2003 squad survived another Egyptian side, Ismali FC in a chat with brilafm.net. “It’s not over until the final whistle, and we still have the second leg to play.
While the situation may look tough, it’s not impossible. “It was a similar case for us in 2003, when we beat Ismaila 2-0 at home and it was like the score line was not big enough. We went there and got the victory that was needed,” he recalled.
The Sharks of Port Harcourt technical adviser saluted Maurice Cooreman’s technical crew for what he called a job well done and urged them to work on the team’s attack and make it sharper before the return battle of Cairo. “The coaches are doing well and I believe they know what they are doing. They only need to sharpen their attack a little more and I am sure victory will come their way,” said Ikhana.
The Egyptians are also not writing off Enyimba as the officials have sounded it loud and clear to the players not to be complacent when they face the Nigerians next week in the crucial second leg at the gigantic Cairo Stadium.
Assistant coach of the side, Hossam Al-Badri has not forgotten what happened to them in the final last year when like they did in Aba on Sunday, held Etoile du Sahel of Tunisia to a draw in Sousse and started walking like they have won the trophy already, only to be stunned 3-1 at their Cairo base by an aggressive Etoile in the return leg.
“We are yet to secure qualification, the game is still on. I think both teams have an equal chance in the return leg in Cairo. “We were looking for a win on Sunday, but I think that the difficult conditions in Aba impeded us,” he told the club’s official website.
To be able to surmount whatever resistance Enyimba are likely to put up, Al-Badri said the club’s management plans to give the players additional bonus if they beat the Aba Elephants and secure a ticket for the final.
Write Comment
Please keep the topic of messages relevant to the subject of the article.
Personal verbal attacks will be deleted.
Please don't use comments to plug your web site. Such material will be removed.
Just ensure to *Refresh* your browser for a new security code to be displayed prior to clicking on the 'Send' button.
Keep in mind that the above process only applies if you simply entered the wrong security code.
MyNaijaNews.com
Naija entertainment, lifestyle, sports, music reviews, fashion, technology, mobile phone reviews, books, classified ads, greeting cards, etc....It's your content. go get it......
Be the first to comment on this article
