The gloom that hung over Enyimba in the opening weeks of this season is slowly lifting. On Sunday, the People’s Elephant dispatched Plateau United 2-0 to record back-to-back league wins for the first time in over a year. The last time Enyimba strung together consecutive victories was in September 2025, when a remarkable win away at Bayelsa United was followed by a dramatic home win over Bendel Insurance. The period since has been riddled with inconsistency: a win here, a loss there, and stalemates in between.<\/p>\n
Coach Emmanuel Deutsch kept faith with the starting eleven that delivered our first win of the season four days earlier, and they repaid his trust. Before the half-hour mark, Wonah Williams cut in from the right wing and switched play into space on the far left for overlapping left-back Salisu Hamisu, who crossed low into the box. Striker Ifeanyi Ihemekwele met it with a low drive beyond the reach of veteran goalkeeper Okiemute Odah. It was Ihemekwele’s second goal of the season, one in each of the last two matches, and a statement that he is the man to lead our charge for goals this term.<\/p>\n
The visitors came out for the second half with more urgency, stringing together intricate passing moves as they probed for a way back into the game. The hosts snuffed it all out and launched attacking forays of their own. The match looked delicately poised until the 68th minute, when Richard Christopher Ezenna doubled our lead, heading home a Wonah Williams corner. That second goal left Gbenga Ogunbote’s side with a mountain to climb, and a red card for one of their players later on made taking anything home even less likely.<\/p>\n
Ezenna has been a revelation for Enyimba so far this season. Deployed as the holding midfielder, his job is to screen the back line and break up the opposition’s attacking momentum. He has since added more to his brief: tight marking, high pressing and getting into scoring positions. He opened his Enyimba account last Wednesday against 3SC, pressing high up the pitch and profiting from a miscommunication between goalkeeper and defender that his relentless pressure in the final third had forced. That goal opened the floodgates on the day.<\/p>\n
Against Plateau United on Sunday, he attacked the near post from the corner to make it two. He has already doubled his tally for the whole of last season in the colours of Katsina United. Interestingly, our next fixture is away to Katsina, and we travel with a former Changi Boy in red-hot form. Hopefully he keeps his emotions in check, unlike the last time he faced a former side. Last season, Katsina United were on the verge of leaving Benin with a point against Bendel Insurance when Ezenna picked up a second booking and was sent off for an early shower. The numerical disadvantage and the loss of his industry told in the final minutes, as the Benin Arsenal struck late to take the spoils.<\/p>\n
After a busy second half of September, we return to a weekly schedule in October. A week between matches means more time for training, recovery and conditioning, and better-planned travel logistics. The team is taking shape, and the last three matches have come without any radical chopping and changing of the starting eleven. Given the results and the momentum they carry, Coach Deutsch will be wary of disrupting the rhythm, at least for now. What matters most at this stage is building a spine and core that can go the distance. It will be a long, physically demanding season, and we have barely scratched the surface, so game time will be shared along the way. All the players need to do is stay fit and committed to the cause.<\/p>\n
Victory, they say, sometimes papers over the cracks. The bickering that followed our poor start to the season is not over; it is lurking in the corner, waiting for a reason to boil over again. Only sustained results will keep it off the front burner. Let’s keep the momentum going.<\/p>\n
Enyimba Enyi!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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