By: Gracious Akujobi
Enyimba International, showed class on Wednesday as they drubbed 3SC of Ibadan 3-1 in the Round of 16 Confederation Cup to reach the last eight.
The game, which was played at the Area 3 Astro Turf Pitch, saw Enyimba dominate from start to finish, thrilling the crowd which was chanting their name all through the match.
Sokari Bobby of Enyimba opened scoring in the 17th minutes of the game while Andrew Oba found the net at the last minutes of the first half.
When the second half resumed, it was Enyimba all the way as they missed a lot of chances to put the Ibadan side under intense pressure. Later on, Enyimba quickly capitalised on a defensive error of to make it three in the 55th minute of the game.
Gbolahan Salami later stole a consolation goal in the 75th minute to make it 3-1 but the game was far from over as his side was totally and completely outclassed by Enyimba who looked more and more deadly when they attacked.
A red card later on to one of the 3SC players, Moses Ogaga meant they were down to ten men against an Enyimba side who were determined to show superiority in the most prestigious Cup of the land.
Speaking to Prompt News Online after the match, Enyinba coach, Paul Aigbogun said he was happy his side progressed to the next round of the competition as they played sublime football. He however said they would take each game as it came as they are in the completion to win.
“We played good football today and I’m very happy with my team. 3SC put up a good game but we were able to hold our own and I think my boys used their pace and skill very well to finish the job”
“But this is just the Round of 16 which we have progressed. Our aim is to win a double and we seem to be on course to win it” he enthused”
When asked about his team’s position in the league and how that as affected their game, Coach Aigbogun said they had greatly improved and are aiming for the top, having made it to the third position.
“You cannot say we are doing badly in the League because these are all new boys and we have made our way from the tenth position to the third. We have greatly improved and we are happy with the position we find our self. Though we will not rest because we are aiming for a double” he concluded.
Meanwhile, Coach of Shooting Stars of Ibadan, Akeem Busari lamented the red given one of his players during the match, saying it was a fair tackle that did not warrant such a response from the centre referee.
“The referee killed the game for us because we didn’t deserve the red card. How can you give such a card when a team is down and the tackle was soft?
“Maybe the game would have gone either way but I think we played very well against them. We had played them in Aba before and beaten them 1-0 so I think we had what it takes but that’s football for you. I’m not happy we crashed out at this point but we hope to do better next time.
The Federations Cup, formerly FA Cup is Nigeria’s oldest completion having started in the 1940s.
