Enyimba’s coach Okey Emordi has attributed his team’s slim 1-0 win over Libyan champions,  Al-Ittihad in Sunday’s Caf Champions League clash to lack of match practice.

Victor Barnabas’ penalty kick at the 74th minute helped the Aba Elephants secure a passage to the money spinning group stage of the 2011 African elite club competition.

Okey Emordi

CAF had early taken a decision to make Enyimba/Al-Ittihad encounter a one leg game due to the civil unrest in the North African state.

Emordi who praised the Libyans for stretching the two-time African champions to the limit told SuperSport.com that they were happy to have overcome their opponents admitting that his wards did not play to the best of their ability.

“We were match rusty because the premier league has been on break for some time now and it did not help our preparations. We only had a few friendly matches which were not enough but we thank God we won despite the shortcomings. It was a tough match and the match could have gone either way.”

Emordi promised better performances in the group stages saying they have set their sights on becoming African champion once again.

“There are lots of mitigating factors hindering the team’s performances like injuries and preparations but our aspiration remains to re_create the feats of 2003 and 2004. We are working exceedingly hard to ensure that we capture the title again.”