CAF League: Enyimba Vow to Redeem Image
By Emeka Enechi
This is the week of reckoning for Nigeria's representatives in this year's Confederation of African Football (CAF) Champions League competition, Enyimba International FC of Aba. The team will depart tomorrow en route Blantyre where they will engage Bakili Bullets of Malawi in the group's last match to determine the team that qualifies with Etoile du Sahel of Tunisia in the group.
Etoile, which leads with 11 points will travel to Abidjan to face the whipping team of the group Africa Sports, which eventually shocked Enyimba with a 1 - 0 victory in Aba last month.
However, management of the team and players have vowed to redeem the image of the country in the competition and qualify for the semi final. Image maker of the team Tonex Chukwu told THISDAYSports yesterday that players were in high spirits and have been training hard for the match which has been dubbed "make or mar" in the team's quest to successfully defend the title they won last year.
"I can assure Nigerians that never before had the players been in this high spirit. They have been training together and all the players are in good health. We have not experienced injuries and we pray that we go there with our full squad. The players have resolved to do the nation proud by picking the group's second ticket for the semi final."
The team, Chukwu said has been fortified with the arrival of Super Eagles number one goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, and latest defence sensation Obinna Nwaneri, who were part of the Nigerian team that battled The Panthers of Gabon to a 1 - 1 draw in Libreville on Saturday. Similarly, defence marshal Yusuf Mohammed who missed last match against Africa Sports due to injury had rejoined the team and had been training.
Chukwu said that history favours the team against Bakili Bullets and hoped that Enyimba lived up to there billing this weekend. He said that the players were upbeat given their antecedents and experience in the competition, which had seen them come back from the brink to turn the table in the past.
"We have been through this rough and tortuous road and survived in the past. Our players know this fact and they have resolved to re live the experience once again. They chorus this each time at training sessions. With that in mind, one is optimistic that the players will turn the table at the last minute."
Meanwhile, the team has dubbed their campaign against Bakili Bullets as "operation round up".
Both teams are tied on the second position with seven points apiece. Enyimba needs only a draw to qualify for the semi final while Bakili needs an outright win. The Nigerian representatives will pick the ticket should they come out of the match with a draw. They have superior goals advantage.
|
