Enyimba football club
Nigeria’s Enyimba International FC of Aba brightened their CAF Confederation Cup Group C campaign on Sunday at the U.J. Esuene stadium with an emphatic 2-0 defeat of Mali’s Djoliba in Calabar.
Isiaka Oladuntoye scored in the 48th minute while Stanley Dimgba converted a penalty in the 81st minute for the homer’s second in a Match Day 1 fixture at the Group Stage of 2018 CAF Confederation Cup competition.
The Bamako-based team controlled the midfield in the first half and had a few efforts on goal although poor shooting was their undoing.
Enyimba struggled to find their rhythm in the first half which ended goalless before taking control in the second half.
The People’s Elephant will be in action in Group C of the CAF Confederations Cup on May 16 away to CARA Brazzaville while Djoliba will host Willamsville of Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, same day.
In the Nigerian Premier League, two first half goals from Nasarawa United Football Club striker Williams Matthew were enough to secure victory for them against visiting El-Kanemi Warriors FC of Maiduguri on Sunday in Lafia.
The Match Day 20 fixture was played at the Lafia Township Stadium.
Matthew scored the first goal in the 9th minute after El-Kanemi defenders failed to clear a cross from Nasarawa United’s Kabir Balogun.
The second goal was however different, with a touch of class from the striker who received applause and a standing ovation from some home fans.
From the middle of the pitch, Matthew skillfully dribbled an El-Kanemi defender and sprinted towards the opposition to complete a brilliant solo effort with a clinical effort in the 32nd minute.
After the break, El-Kanemi Warriors had good chances to score but failed, with Michael Ohanu having the same opportunity that led to Matthew’s second goal for Nasarawa United.
In the 75th minute, Ohanu also picked up the ball from the middle of the pitch, outpacing Nasarawa United defenders.
But on getting to the opposition’s penalty area, he failed to control the ball and lost a goalbound opportunity to the dismay of team mates and technical crew of El-Kanemi.
Speaking to newsmen after the match, Imama Amapakabo, Head Coach of El-Kanemi Warriors, praised Nasarawa United for converting some of their goal chances and blamed his team for failing to do likewise.
“We had our chances in the second half, but our players failed to score. Nevertheless, I was impressed with our second half showing.
“Like I said, we are rebuilding the team and the philosophy is gradually getting in and I think that before the end of the season, people will see a better El-Kanemi,” he said.
In his remarks, Kabiru Dogo, the Head Coach of Nasarawa United, said he was delighted with the performance of his team whom according to him played to instructions.
“The plan was to get quick goals so that it can unsettle them and it worked for us perfectly. Our plan was that in the first 20 minutes, we should score and we did.
“We planned towards that after watching the clip of our encounter with them in Maiduguri where we created so many chances but failed to score,” he said.
