The focus of everyone associated with Enyimba FC must be simple for now: navigate the final five matches of the season and put to rest any threat of relegation. Every other issue, whether it concerns the rot at the club, sabotage, buck-passing, or revisionism, can be revisited once we are safely above the red line. There will be time then, and clearer heads, to unpack and repack what has been a deeply unusual campaign for the People’s Elephant.
The team is still drawing energy from the creditable point earned in Lafia against Wikki Tourists. It was a draw that felt like a win because of the dramatic way it came. Augustine Nwaorisa’s stoppage-time equaliser secured a share of the spoils and once again highlighted the team’s fighting spirit and resilience in difficult moments. It also continued a growing pattern: Enyimba have now scored late goals in three straight matches. While Emmanuel Deutsch still has work to do in cutting out the easy giveaways and careless goals conceded, he appears to have given the players a belief that as long as they remain in the game, a result is still possible, even at the death.
The call for Enyimba to take two steps forward and move away from the survival chaos behind them was at least partly answered in Lafia. It was not a giant leap, but it was a measured stride in the right direction. Now, with the team rested and reset, the next task is to take another step forward and build properly on that valuable point. Katsina United will arrive in Aba carrying a poor historical record in this fixture, but they are no pushovers in their current form. The Changi Boys are unbeaten in their last four league games, with two home wins and two away draws. More importantly, they have been difficult to break down, conceding only once and scoring three times in that stretch.
Katsina coach Azeez Mohammed will also be looking to familiar faces to extend that run. Three former Enyimba players are now in his fold, and each of them has a role to play. Uche Collins, their joint-top scorer with 11 goals, will be eager to add to the brace he scored in Katsina United’s 3-2 win over Enyimba earlier this season. His spell in Aba during the second half of the 2023/24 season came and went quietly, but this campaign he looks far more settled and productive. Elijah Akanni, another former Enyimba player, enjoyed a better time in Aba and was part of the title-winning side in 2023. After a slow start at Katsina, he has found some rhythm, scoring twice in the last three matches, both times coming off the bench to deliver winning goals.
While Collins and Akanni will be expected to provide attacking spark, Moses Adikwu will be tasked with helping keep things compact at the back. Known fondly as Big Fish, Adikwu made a bright start to life in Aba before fading and eventually departing after just one season. He now returns in different colours, looking to frustrate the same club that once gave him his stage.
For Enyimba fans, confidence ahead of this game comes largely from the club’s strong home record against Katsina United. It is a winning sequence that stretches back almost two decades, and history will once again be called upon for comfort. In terms of current personnel, Chidera Michael remains the obvious danger man and will once more lead the push for goals. But another player steadily growing into importance is the youngster Samuel Okechukwu. The teenager, who came through the club’s youth ranks, has already begun to turn heads with mature performances in his debut NPFL season.
The coaches have eased him into the first team carefully, mostly through substitute appearances. But his superb defence-splitting pass for Chidera Michael’s opener against Abia Warriors immediately strengthened calls for him to start more games. When Eshiwe, as Samuel is known, was handed his first start against Wikki, he repaid that faith with a thunderous left-footed strike to make it 1-1 in what eventually ended as a 2-2 draw. It was another sign that Enyimba may have found not just a useful squad player, but a genuine game-changer.
Three points are on offer again this Sunday, and Enyimba must treat them accordingly. If the club is serious about climbing away from danger and improving its standing on the table, then this is one of those matches where anything less than maximum points will feel like a missed chance.
Enyimba Enyi
