Enyimba battle Egypt’s Al Masry for survival, Eguma sure of recapturing lost glory

Enyimba ’s new manager, Stanley Eguma, is optimistic that the Peoples Elephant will soon reclaim their place among Africa’s best football teams. On Wednesday in Aba, Eguma’s team struggled to a 2-1 victory over Nasarawa United in one of their rescheduled games in the Nigerian Premier Football League (NPFL).

The nine-time Nigerian champions are currently placed seventh in the 20-team NPFL, albeit they have played two games less than the other sides in the league.

It is in the CAF Confederation Cup that the 2003 and 2004 African champions are stuttering badly. They have won only a game out of four, losing two and drawing one to sit at the base of the four-team group.

This Sunday, Enyimba will confront Egypt’s Al Masry in a CAF Confederation Cup game they must win to stay in contention for one of the two tickets in Group D of the championship.

Enyimba started the competition with 0-2 loss to the same Al Masry in Cairo, held another Egyptian side, Zamalek, to a 2-2 draw in Uyo before losing scandalously to Mozambique’s Black Bulls 3-0 in Maputo.

Although they managed to beat the Mozambican side 4-1 in Uyo, Enyimba’s position is such that they must beat Al Masry, get a good result from their game against Zamalek in Cairo and hope for favourable results in the other matches involving Al Masry and Black Bulls to progress to the quarterfinals of this year’s competition.

Eguma believes his wards can accomplish their own part of the bargain beginning with victory in Sunday’s game against Al Masry.

Speaking with The Guardian after the 2-1 defeat of Nasarawa United on Wednesday, Eguma said, “we are on the verge of recapturing our position in African football.”

Eguma said the players have been making his task easier with the way they have taken to his methods, adding, however, that injuries to key players have hampered the team’s progress a bit. He said: “The players have been very cooperative and I want to assure Enyimba fans that the team is on the way to getting back to form.

“We are trying to get the injured players back to form and begin the final drive to getting a perfect team.”The coach said he wants to ensure that there is continuity by employing a core of the players available for selection, depending on their opponent and tactics, explaining that some of the players could be assigned new roles to meet specified challenges.

Eguma said that he is rebuilding the team with the crop of players available to him now, adding that some of the players have shown that they can excel in any situation irrespective of the opposition. “We are bringing in a new orientation, a new philosophy and with the open window, we may take the advantage to plug one or two holes. We will not go for a wholesale change just for the sake of it. This crop of players is capable of achieving greatness for the club,” he said.

On the game against Al Masry, Eguma assured Enyimba supporters that the club would do everything possible to get the required result to progress to the quarterfinals of the Confederation Cup.

“When I was here in 2004, we won the CAF Champions League and now, I want to assure the fans that I am back to leave a good legacy that they will always remember. The task looks difficult, but it is something that we can achieve.” Enyimba’s opponents, Al Masry, arrived in Uyo on Thursday ahead of the highly anticipated Group D matchday five clash.