By Eddie Akalonu

Head coach of Enyimba Football Club of Aba, Okey Emordi has given an assurance that the Peoples Elephant will be at their best against  Libya’s Al Ittihad in the hunt for a ticket into the league stage of the CAF Champions League in Aba today.

Writing on the club’s website, Chairman of the club, Chief Felix Anyansi-Agwu called on their teeming fans to troop to the Aba Stadium to cheer the team to victory and disregard earlier reports that the match is holding elsewhere.
“We are leaving nothing to chance, I can assure you the players are at their best. Whatever they (Libyans) have, we will contain them and go for an outright win,” Emordi declared.

Being a clash between current champions of their respective countries, makes it a game to behold for the fans, but current form of Enyimba in the Nigerian league puts a question mark on their ability to deliver.

Like Enyimba, Ittihad have won the Libyan Premier League sixteen times and are tagged the country’s most successful team while Enyimba on the other hand, have won the Nigerian league six times, the Nigerian FA Cup twice and hold the advantage.

Besides being Nigeria’s most successful team, they have been two times winners of the CAF Champions League in 2003 and 2004 in addition to winning the CAF Super Cup.

But Emordi said the approach towards this particular assignment would be different because it will be handled  with all the seriousness it deserves as the target is clear. “We want  a place in the group stage. I made the point to the players to remain focussed and be at their best in this game because we must strive to progress to the next stage.”

While asking the fans to come out and cheer their team, Anyansi-Agwu said, “I heard about the change to a neutral venue for our game with the Libyans and called the football governing body to verify this but they said it wasn’t correct and assured me the game was going to be held in Aba.”

“So I urge everyone to be rest assured that we would not be playing outside of Aba, come May 8. I appeal to our fans to turn up in large numbers and support us. We need their support to qualify.”