By John Egbokhan

Hopes were dashed the last time Rangers met Enyimba at the Nnamdi Azikwe Stadium in Enugu on July 19. For the first time since 2007, six-time league champions, Enyimba recorded a 2-1 win win against their oriental brothers.

The win did not come easy as Enyimba had to dig deep to score the winner in the closing minutes of the highly entertaining match that got fans rolling from end to end to keep up with the pace of the unfolding end-to-end football spectacle that captured the imagination of fans who watched it live on television.

Enyimba needed the win to keep up the pace with Sunshine Stars at the top of the table. With defending champions Kano Pillars nowhere near the top eight teams on the log, it seems that the battle for the title is a straight fight between Sunshine Stars and Enyimba, who both have 36 points.

But both teams can ill-afford to disregard the trio of Wikki Tourists, Warri Wolves and Heartland, who all have 33, 33 and 32 points respectively. Such has been the unpredictable nature of the league this season that fans have started trooping to the stadium to get a feel of the drama and it promises to get even better tomorrow when Enyimba host Rangers  in the star match of round 20 at the Enyimba International Stadium, Aba.

Enyimba are a team I a hurry to return to the summit of Nigerian football, having seen Kano Pillars rule the land in the last three seasons. Aba used to be the place to be in the years of former Aba State Governor, Orji Uzor Kalu but the eight-year reign of immediate past Governor, Theodore Orji brought a reversal of fortunes as Enyimba grappled with the reality of playing catch-up to the likes of Pillars, Dolphins, Ocean Boys  and Bayelsa United who all won the leagues in the last decade.

But with Coach Kadiri Ikhana firmly in charge in Aba, it seems that the good old days are back for Enyimba fans who will be hopeful of an encore of wins against Rangers tomorrow. But Rangers are coming to town with a different agenda, to avenge their 2-1 loss suffered  a fortnight ago and improve their standing on the table.

With 27 points in the kitty, a Rangers win in Aba will take them to 31 points, five less than Enyimba. The likes of Enyimba’s Christian Obiozor and Andrew Abalogu, who both scored in the reverse fixture will be holding out for an encore of goals tomorrow while Rangers duo of Godwin Aguda and Kalu Orj, who conceded the penalty that gave Enyimba the opener in Enugu will hope to make amends for his mistakes and score the goal that will give Rangers the perfect revenge against Enyimba.