It’s Matchday
The stage is set for one of Nigerian football’s biggest rivalries—Zo-Bia Classic! The biggest team in the North, Kano Pillars, welcomes the pride of the nation, Enyimba, to the Sani Abacha Stadium in what promises to be a thrilling encounter.
After our infamous Continental Campaign, this match offers us a perfect opportunity to announce to the League that our minimum targets are still very paramount to us. A trip to Kano is always a clash of emotions, passion, and history. Win, lose, or draw, this fixture always delivers.
Historically, though, our visits to Kano have been less than fruitful. Since 2019, we’ve only managed a single goal—a Victor Mbaoma strike in a 2-1 loss. In fact, we’ve only avoided defeat twice in 10 years: a 1-1 draw in 2018 and a rare 2-1 win. If you ever needed a picture of how heavy a task is facing us today, well, here you go.
All eyes will be on our top scorer, Ifeanyi Ihemekwele. With 10 goals to his name across all competitions, he’s the man to watch. But Kano Pillars have their own talisman—the ageless Rabiu Ali, who has 8 league goals this season. And let’s not forget the star power: AFCON 2013 winners Brown Ideye for us and Ahmed Musa for them. It’s a heavyweight showdown from 4pm today!
Worthy of mention is our defence. Still one of the meanest in the League, but it will be severely tested today. The last 2 goals we conceded – Zamalek’s 2nd and 3rd is capable of sucking the confidence out of any team but our backline needs to remind themselves of how we got here. Resolute, Committed and very mean.
For Stanley Eguma, today is more than just a match. It’s a chance to remind everyone why he was brought in—to salvage a season that had stagnated, turning draws into wins and ensuring we are within touch of the league leaders. And this mission is not lost on the boss – the expectation is that he must deliver.
Coach Yema may have supervised no wins in his last half a dozen games at Enyimba but he stayed unbeaten in the League while at it. I can count three away draws – At Shooting, Bayelsa and Abia Warriors. It is only fair that we expect Eguma to match or even beat this. Alot has been said of his wealth of experience and today is the perfect day to wave his wonder wand.
A win today not only gives us bragging rights but also propels us to 5th on the table ahead of Monday’s trip to Benin City. I feel that is motivation enough. Can we do it?
It’s the Zo-Bia Classic. Come on lads.
EnyimbaEnyi
