By Daily sports on December 28, 2020

It is no longer news the result of last week’s CAF Champs League in the often dangerous city of Omdurman, Sudan, where the highly technical side, Al Merreikh FC hosted the Nigerian representatives, Enyimba FC.

That result is not what is important here but rather how the Nigerian warriors should put their acts together to overcome the slippery and strong team from war torn Sudanese nation.

The result no doubt weakened many analysts and pundits but the way and manner the goals came pointed that the visitors’ technical crew led by Lukman Osho and the players did not do their home work well.

Yes, this page this week is not grounded to apportion blames on first leg but to suggest solutions that would shock the visitors in Aba in the second leg.  Truth is that Al Merreikh is no push over whether on home ground or away soil. The team is not new customers to Enyimba as both sides have met many times in this CAF Champs League summit.

The January 6, 2021 encounter would be no exception in all ramifications. A very tough setting looms and it will be waste of time to emphasise that it would be a now or never tie that further movement of both sides solely depends on.

For the Sudanese suicide squad, things seem a bit easier having three goals advantage, and so their headache would only be how to evolve tight strategies that would contain the certainly wounded Aba warlords from on the spot slaughter from the opening seconds of the crucial second leg war.

The onions however is solely on the home team to get their acts together to ensure that even a quarter chance that will come their way would be fully utilised unlike their wasteful attitude during their first leg in faraway Sudan where reports had it that the Nigerian side failed woefully to convert chances created in a game that both teams are rated as potential bravo warriors.

Let me point out here that the fact that the Sudanese side is leading with solid 3-0 never would mean that the team would relax here knowing that they are coming in for real tough duel against an equally traditional Nigerian team. Again football being an unpredictable game, the visitors would be up in arms and prepare to their teeth for the worst.

Trust them, they will come in as if they are the ones at the receiving end and make things difficult for the homers. The way out therefore would be for Enyimba to go for broke, be clam but too robust in their attacks and marking ensuring that they cover effectively and vigilantly their back and be at red alert against counter attacks from their opponent. Trust that they would come with all tricks in and outside the field to frustrate and annoy the Aba team to make silly mistakes and lose their heads and control in anger.

The Lukman Osho-led technical crew should guard against that aspect and instruct his lads because 3-0, though a huge deceit can still be cancelled if proper match plan is laid out and impacted strictly into the boys before the make or break second leg in Aba.

However, one will not lose sight of the fact that Enyimba FC is not of the same strength it was known for due to the quality of players that left its fold for greener pastures in other teams but the boys I watched and what the report said gave good account of themselves. Despite the wide margin loss, it can be salvaged with proper planning and playing to instruction, beating the Sudanese to their delay and other man made tactics game they would come along with.

I will implore Enyimba players to rather frustrate their visitors with surprise performance that would shock them (visitors) to their bone marrow and snatch the sole ticket for the next round.

The Aba encounter won’t be an easy one, however the fittest would survive. Enyimba team still has chance of overcoming their day’s opponent and so must maintain cool head and carry out this uphill task like kingly assignment. It is doable as their predecessors have done it before, both inside the main bowl of Enyimba International Stadium and on away ground. It is the same and the name of the club supports this assertion. History must be made as reference point here. The present crop of players are ball jugglers in their right and must put their mind and heart into this and get off the ground an enduring robust play and accurate shoot on sight. The boys from Sudan are no better. The lad that scored the heart trick is not better than the players of Enyimba and so they should put whatever happened in Sudan behind and look forward for fresh start come January second crucial leg anticipated showpiece.

If the home team can totally avoid anxiety of any kind and concentrate on their game plan, nothing would save the Al Merreikh boys from same humiliation in Aba. Enyimba FC must wake up decisively and counter their opponents if only to make the bold statement that such wide goals margin is never exclusive to the Central African club.

Yes, it won’t be child’s play as the setting points to such direction and Enyimba technical crew and players whose broad shoulders this tedious assignment fell pointedly on, have a chance to prove their capability.

They should dot the ‘i’s and cross the ‘t’s where they are supposed to in time as there should be no delays in taking decisions that would work towards outright cancelling of the three nil deceit early and going ahead to score the winning goal(s). The team should play their own card or part perfectly all in the overall bid to achieving the end positive result that will see Enyimba go forward in the tournament.

Felix Anyansi Agwu, though a veteran football administrator of great repute has yet again his acute men on the line and how he would bring this to logical conclusion remains the critical questions on the lips of all CAF Champs League football fans, not only in Nigeria but in the continent and the world, clean and clear.

All hands must be on deck and the boys must brace up decisively, work harder, think positively, be clam, focused, determined, should not be or feel intimidated, develop high spirits, know the kind of dollars they will make if they surmount gamely the Al Merreikh threat or challenge which the Enyimba team is capable of clinical execution.

Having every support, encouragement, advice and sundry given to them, foremost, Enyimba lads must not play under any kind of tension nd then the solution is  already there.

For the well-meaning fans of the team, this is the right period to come out and give the players financial support and promises that if they turn the Sudanese back and grab the next round ticket, this and that sum of money must be theirs. Such motivation would boost the morale of the young players to go for the kill. It has worked before and it will do to raise their spirits to hammer the invaders from war worn Sudan.

The visitors are no pushovers but Enyimba can prove they can be stopped.

We will keep our fans and readers posted on this important national assignment where our image and football growth is on the line and it must be seen as national call to duty. NFF and sundry must put its feet down and support without looking back. Enyimba is the only team standing at the premier level while Rivers United is on the second tier level. They must be supported and seen as national babies, no more, no less. Enyimba must not disappoint as everyone is behind them.

Keep shooting hard till next week as the Struggle Continues!!

Below is for the benefit of readers that missed the match report.

Enyimba of Aba got a rude awakening in Omdurman, Sudan, where Al Merreikh hit them three times to jeorpadise their chances of making it to the group stage of the CAF Champions League.

Although there is still the second leg to be played in Aba, what promised to be a good season in Africa’s elite club competition has now become a difficult task for the 2003, 2004 Champions League winners.

To make the group stage, Enyimba must win by at least 4-0. Anything else will see them dropping into the less glamorous Confederation Cup.

There was nothing in yesterday’s game that indicated that the Peoples Elephant would lose with such high margin. Enyimba went into the game brimming with confidence. But they did not reckon with the dangerous Saif Terry, who did everything Enyimba defenders didn’t like, putting three goals behind the Nigerians’ goalkeeper, Bassa Djeri.

The game was only seven minutes old when Terry controlled a long pass, beat two of his markers before firing past Djeri. Thereafter, Enyimba seemed to wake up as they dominated possession, but poor coordination in the final third was their undoing.

When it seemed that Enyimba was getting their grooves in the game, Al Merreikh hit them again with Terry the chief damager, as he finished a counter attack initiated by Bakri Al-Madina.

In the second half, Enyimba made some changes with a view to changing the course of the game. Abiodun Adebayo came in for Nabil Yaro and Tosin Omoyele replaced Samson Obi, but the Al Merreikh defence and goalkeeper Munjid Al-Neel stood their ground. Rather, the Sudanese added the third goal in the 90th and Terry’s hat trick to make the second leg a tough task for the Nigerians.

While Enyimba were suffering in the hands of Al Merreikh in Omdurman, Nigeria’s lone representative in the Confederation Cup, Rivers United went, saw and conquered in South Africa, where they beat Bloemfontein Celtic 2-0.

The Port Harcourt outfit had to overcome the absence of three players, whose identities were not revealed, who tested positive for Coronavirus before this match.

Godwin Aguda opened scoring for Rivers United midway into the second half for his second goal of this competition, before Fortune Omoniwari doubled their advantage soon after.

The return leg match will be in a fortnight with the overall winners advancing to the final playoff stage of the competition. (The Guardian)

Source Daily sports

Posted December 28, 2020

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