Good morning, All.
I really do not know whether we should call this an early warning sign or simply an unlucky start to the season, but losing our first home match of the season to a less-fancied, newly promoted side that was rooted at the bottom of the young league table before kickoff is certainly not what anyone would have wanted.
Our first home match came with plenty of optimism. After back-to-back defeats on the road against Niger Tornadoes and another newly promoted side, Doma United, everyone expected the home fixture against Inter Lagos to finally deliver our first victory of the season, perhaps even a convincing one. That was why ThatEnyimbaFan gave out 10 free VIP tickets to fans to come and see the team.
But it seemed we were all thinking wishfully, while fate had other plans.
Although, sometimes, what we call fate is simply the consequence of our own actions and inactions.
As expected, there were several new faces in the squad for the Aba fan who was finally getting the opportunity to see this new-look Enyimba side at home. There were, however, a few familiar faces from last season, notably Ogunga, Wonah Williams and Stanley Dimgba, who all started the game.
It was also a very wet day in Aba. Rainfall started around 11am and continued intermittently until after the final whistle, leaving the pitch soggy and creating patches of water across parts of the playing surface.
It is our home ground, though, so one would expect that we had trained in similar conditions at some point and perhaps had a strategy for dealing with them. But then again, no one starts boiling water simply because they are expecting a fall.
Inter Lagos’ Ezekiel Moses struck in the 19th minute, rising to head home what would become the only goal of the game. That solitary header was enough to give the visitors passage through the parted Red Sea into the promised land of victory in their dry-bones era, while Enyimba were left sinking even deeper down the table.
Yesterday’s defeat was largely down to the team’s inability to take their chances. Opportunities came, but it seemed everybody suddenly became goal-shy. “Criminal” misses dotted the landscape so frequently that I began wondering why the policemen around the stadium did not make a single arrest.
We created enough to get something from the game, but football does not reward chances created. It rewards goals scored. And when you fail to put the ball in the net while the opposition needs only one good opportunity to punish you, you leave yourself at the mercy of fate.
Three matches into the season, we are still searching for our first point at home and our first victory anywhere. That is not the start anyone expected, but there is no point dwelling on what cannot be changed.
The next opportunity arrives quickly.
Up next is another home game against Sporting Lagos on Wednesday. Like Inter Lagos, they are newly promoted, and they also come to Aba after losing their last game at home without scoring.
May lightning never strike twice.
Enyimba Enyi!
