It is only our fourth match of the Euromatch Nigeria Premier Football League season, and we have somehow endured one of the strangest starts imaginable. Every form of banter has been thrown at us, while events from within the club have hardly provided much encouragement either. I can’t even begin listing everything that has happened without feeling ashamed of my club. Yet, I remain a believer. All of this will pass, if we want it to.
For now, the most important thing is to start grinding out results, and today gives us another opportunity to get it right, this time in front of our home supporters. We have heard about the defeats, seen them with our own eyes and felt their consequences. Now, it is time to get that much-needed victory and finally lift the cloud of gloom hanging over Aba.
Victory has that superpower. Sometimes, one good result is enough to change the mood, restore confidence and remind everyone what is possible.
Our latest hurdle is yet another Lagos-based side, Sporting Lagos, who play their home games at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan, Lagos, the oldest football ground in Nigeria. Interesting history, but we are not particularly bothered about that today. As far as we are concerned, none of the Lagos teams currently playing there was in the top flight when Enyimba won our last league title in 2023.
The piece of history that concerns us much more is a rather unpleasant one: the consecutive 0-1 scorelines we have suffered against Lagos-based teams in Aba.
First, it was Ikorodu City, when we were agonisingly close to the relegation zone. That defeat plunged us further into uncertainty, a situation that persisted until the final day, when we secured a 3-0 victory over El-Kanemi Warriors to preserve our top-flight status.
Then, on Sunday, Inter Lagos celebrated their sixth anniversary by inflicting the same 0-1 scoreline on us in our own backyard, pushing us to the bottom of the league table.
And now, Sporting Lagos are here.
There is no doubt that Sporting appear to have the most vocal fan base among the Lagos teams, and that should make a victory today even sweeter. Not just because of what it would do for the mental state of Enyimba supporters, but because it would also provide some very useful banter material afterwards.
We are in desperate need of a win, and at this point, there can be no room for excuses.
Emmanuel Deutsch has to find a way to disconnect his team from everything happening around the club and focus entirely on the football. It may sound difficult, but it is certainly possible. The coach needs to get the boys mentally ready and remind them that, when they step onto that pitch, the only business that matters is getting the job done.
They are playing for the badge.
They are playing for the fans.
They are playing for themselves.
Not for Mr A. Not for Mr B.
When you are called upon to wear that shirt, give 100 percent.
Nothing less.
Sporting Lagos arrive wounded after a 0-2 defeat in Lagos at the hands of our brothers, Abia Warriors. So, why not make it back-to-back victories for Abia State clubs over these noisy Lagosians?
The stage is set.
The fans are ready.
The excuses have run out.
Lock in, guys! It’s time for action.
Kickoff is 4pm.
Enyimba Enyi!
