The emphatic 3-0 victory Enyimba posted over Katsina United last weekend lifted our position on the table and brightened our chances of retaining our topflight status. It also pointed to a mini revival, a third straight match without defeat and another timely reminder that every point now carries serious weight. At this stage of the season, confidence grows quickly when results come, and belief has started to return.
But Enyimba, as presently constituted, is never far from drama.
If it is not a player strike, it is management strife. The club keeps pressing the self-destruct button at crucial moments, precisely when calm, focus, and discipline are needed to navigate turbulent waters and steer the ship safely ashore. After Sunday’s massive win lifted the mood ahead of the biggest Oriental Derby, reports emerged of players downing tools over unpaid bonuses and fresh tension within the management structure.
It is painful to see Enyimba make the news for the wrong reasons yet again. This is no longer an isolated incident. It is becoming a recurring pattern. No serious team skips training ahead of a major game and expects to arrive in peak physical condition. Neither can a side truly be in the right psychological space when it is being owed by the club. Rangers are not Fosla, with all due respect to the modest side we handled in the State Federation Cup amid the week’s grumbling. And though this fixture has, for the second season running, lost some of its old sparkle because it is no longer a direct title showdown, it still carries the pride of a derby and very different objectives for both sides.
There was a time when Enyimba against Rangers meant much more than bragging rights. When both clubs were in the title race, the war of words between their top officials would set the tone for the encounter and create the kind of psychological battle that gave the fixture even more edge. Those mind games shaped narratives, stirred the public, and heightened anticipation. Back then, management would have done everything possible to ensure the players approached such a match with maximum focus, including handling welfare properly and providing the right incentives.
Perhaps our current position in 12th has lulled some within the club into thinking we are already safe, that we only need to show up for matches and avoid walkovers or the danger of damaging our goal difference with automatic three-goal defeats. But the reality is far more fragile. Only four points separate 11th place from the bottom side. With four matches left and 12 points still available, every team in the lower half of the table remains vulnerable. Nobody is out of danger yet.
A trip to the Cathedral to face Enugu Rangers is not the easiest assignment, but neither is it some impossible mission. Enyimba have won there three times in the last decade. Of course, these are different times, and the standard at Enyimba has clearly fallen, with the People’s Elephant fighting for survival while the Flying Antelopes are chasing the title. Still, history is worth remembering, especially the moments and goalscorers who have written themselves into this rivalry.
Few Enyimba fans can think of this fixture without remembering Christian Obiozor, whose opener in the 2-1 win in Enugu in 2015 helped shape our title-winning run that season. Then there was Boxing Day 2021, when Chukwuemeka Obioma came off the bench for Victor Mbaoma and scored the late winner in another 2-1 victory. Even after Rangers were awarded maximum points and three goals in 2024 following Enyimba’s walkout over a late penalty decision, the Aba giants returned in 2025 to win there again. First-half goals from Gabriel Innocent and Ekene Awazie proved decisive in that 2-1 success.
This season, Enyimba have already beaten Rangers once, a 2-1 win in Aba with Chidera Michael and Stanley Dimgba on the scoresheet. Awazie, Chidera, and Dimgba are all available for this one, and the latter two go into the match in encouraging goal-scoring form. The Rangers-Enyimba clash is rightly the star fixture of the weekend, with live radio commentary and streaming coverage adding more visibility to an already high-profile encounter. In a way, that spotlight should force both sides to approach the game honestly and without inhibition.
Enyimba need a bold plan, clear execution, and the fighting spirit of an elephant if they are to come away from Enugu with another positive result. But before that, management must do its part. The team has to be kept focused on the objective, and needless distractions must be removed.
Enyimba Enyi.
