We came back from Maiduguri with nothing, losing 3 to 2 to El Kanemi Warriors in a Matchday 18 contest that felt painfully familiar. A hard fought game, a difficult trip, and once again, the sense that we left something behind.
This was not a case of being blown away. Far from it. We competed. We created. We asked questions. But football is cruel that way. If you do not take your chances, especially in places like Maiduguri, you pay for it. And we did.
Lawrence Ukaegbu said afterward that El Kanemi were lucky to escape defeat, and it is hard to argue. We had the better spells, found space in the final third, and got ourselves into positions that should have changed the story. Instead, poor finishing and momentary lapses at the back handed the initiative away.
“It was a good game, but for the errors at the back which allowed them cheap goals,” Ukaegbu said. “If we had converted the chances we created, it would have been the other way round.”
That sentence alone sums up our season so far. We are rarely terrible. OK. We are terrible sometimes. Most times. But lately, we are often competitive. Yet we keep finding new ways to make things harder than they need to be. Against a side that survives largely on home results and crowd energy, mistakes were always going to be punished. We need to have a conversation about our defence.
Still, it was not all bleak. The performance suggested a team that is slowly finding its feet, even if the outcomes refuse to cooperate. Ukaegbu believes we will improve in the second round, particularly in front of goal, and for now, we choose to believe him.
“We will go back and work on those lapses,” he said. “I am confident we will get better.”
The defeat drops us to ninth on the table, which feels about right for a side caught between promise and frustration. With the first stanza almost done, we now turn our attention back home.
Shooting Stars come to Aba on Sunday. Familiar opponents. Familiar expectations. A chance to end the first half of the season on a steadier note. Not everything has gone to plan, but the season is still there to be shaped.
We have seen worse. We have survived worse. What we need now is honesty, clarity, and execution. The table will respond accordingly.
Back tomorrow
