Tobi Iyanda’s 15th-minute strike separated Enyimba FC and Kun Khalifat in the Oriental Derby in Aba last Sunday. Before the match, the People’s Elephant had their backs to the wall, so a win was the top priority if we were to have some breathing space this week. The goal at the quarter-hour mark calmed nerves, but Ifeanyi Ihemekwele’s tame penalty, saved five minutes later, left the door open for the visitors to stay in the game until the final whistle. It made for a nervy finish.
It’s understandable to let your strikers take penalties. It helps them add to their tally and boosts their confidence. However, the team should come before personal interests or moods. The Aba giants are not in a good place in the league and should prioritize efficiency in getting results over sentimental in-match decisions. A team determined to take every opportunity should have a designated penalty taker, or an order of takers depending on who is available. We have been awarded two penalties in eleven matches this season. The first was clinically dispatched by Iyanda to open his Enyimba account against Sporting Lagos. Given that, it’s hard to make a case against Iyanda as the logical choice for the second: he already had a successful penalty under his belt this term, and he had scored in the derby only minutes before the penalty was awarded.
On this blog, we have highlighted the need to take advantage of every opportunity to get ahead of the opponent, whether it’s a rehearsed free-kick routine, a quickly taken corner or a long, missile-like throw into the box. A penalty is the most straightforward route to goal, so it should not be complicated by indecisive and sentimental choices. Ihemekwele’s poor effort did not cost us the three points, but it left us on edge for the rest of the match.
In Enyimba’s title-winning 2015 season, Mfon Udoh started as the designated penalty taker. When injury disrupted his season early in the campaign, Markson Ojobo stepped in and took charge. He scored about five, including a brace from the spot in a remarkable win over El-Kanemi Warriors in Aba. Ojobo was a near-permanent fixture in the team, starting at either right back or centre back, and his accuracy from the spot earned him the role ahead of the strikers. Even Udoh’s return did not change that. The only time anyone other than Ojobo or Udoh took a penalty that season was against Rangers in Enugu at the end of the first round, when Christian Obiozor took responsibility in the absence of the designated duo and opened the scoring in a memorable 2-1 victory.
The win over Kun Khalifat is a momentary relief, but the real challenge lies in building on it on our travels. Anyone familiar with the NPFL knows the table flips after every matchday; only a sustained run of good results pushes a team up the log. After eleven matchdays, eleven away wins have been recorded, an average of one per weekend, with Sporting Lagos leading the way with three wins on the road, though one of those came against city rivals Inter Lagos. Enyimba’s best effort away so far is a draw at Kano Pillars.
Our attention now turns to Minna, where we face Ranchers Bees. We have yet to break our hoodoo against newly promoted sides since last season. This term, we have already lost to the other three newcomers: Doma United in Gombe, and Inter Lagos and Sporting Lagos in Aba. But we can hope for some respite in Minna, a temporary home for the Bees. The last time we met in the league was in the 2009/10 season, when we beat them 4-0 in Aba and 1-0 in Kano, their temporary home that season. The double helped us on our way to the title and hastened their relegation.
Both sides have struggled for consistency this season. Ranchers Bees have already made changes to their technical crew, while Enyimba continue to trust the process under Emmanuel Deutsch. A return to Minna, where we opened the season against Niger Tornadoes on August 30, should go better this time: we’ve had more games since then to build understanding and settle on the core of the team. Deutsch will need a bold game plan that takes the game to the “hosts” if we are to come away from Minna with a result.
