Some days are like that. Sounds cliché, right?
Here’s a truth. There are days in football when the script refuses to follow logic, when giants stumble and underdogs suddenly find their roar. Sunday in Aba was one of those days. For a team that has built its reputation on dominance, the defeat to Warri Wolves wasn’t just unexpected, it was unsettling. We arrived at the stadium expecting another routine afternoon of controlled football and solid defending. What we got instead was ninety minutes that tested patience, loyalty, and pride in equal measure.
The match began like any other. The Aba crowd was loud, the drummers relentless, the chants full of hope. But from the first whistle, something felt off. The sharpness was missing, the rhythm uneven, and once again the swagger that defines us looked uncertain. Warri Wolves, newly promoted and supposedly easy prey, didn’t come to admire the scenery. They came to fight. And when the final whistle went, they had done more than fight. They had swept us away at the Elephant Park.
Losing at home hurts. Losing to a newly promoted side hurts even more. But what made this defeat sting most wasn’t the scoreline, it was the realization that the small cracks we had been papering over are beginning to widen. The lack of goals, the patchy link-up play, the reliance on moments of individual brilliance, and all those small imperfections came together in one uncomfortable afternoon. It wasn’t a collapse, but it was a reminder that football never forgives complacency.
Assistant coach Ndubuisi Nduka, standing in for the bereaved Eguma, tried to put words to the emotions swirling through the camp. He admitted it was a difficult one to take, reflecting on how our early-season consistency had slowly given way to uncertainty. Still, there was steel in his tone. “We are not going to give up,” he said. “We’ll face the realities and fix what needs fixing. Whatever the problem is, we’ll sort it out, and it’s going to start showing from our next match.” It wasn’t just a statement for the cameras; it felt like a rallying cry.
And that’s the beauty of this club. Even in defeat, there’s always defiance. We don’t stay down for long. The badge, the history, the pride don’t allow it. Losing a match is part of the sport; losing belief is not. For every blow, there’s always a bounce-back, and that’s what the next few weeks must represent. Not panic. Not pity. Just a steady return to what makes us who we are — that discipline, that structure, and that quiet ruthlessness that has brought glory to Aba for decades.
Warri Wolves deserve credit. They came, they believed, and they took their chance. But one result doesn’t change the story. Every strong team gets a wake-up call, and maybe this was ours. Maybe this was football’s reminder that trophies aren’t won on memory but on moments. The league is long, and there’s still time to turn this pain into purpose.
So yes, some days are like that. That wasn’t ours.
EnyimbaEnyi 💙
