The much-anticipated Oriental Derby kicked off under heavy skies in Umuahia, a contest loaded with local pride, bragging rights, and the kind of tension that makes even neutral hearts beat faster.
Abia Warriors, cheered on by a packed home crowd, started brightly and nearly stunned the visitors inside five minutes. A sharp move through the middle carved open Enyimba’s defense, but Kevin Ogunga was alert, springing low to his right to make an early save.
Enyimba slowly grew into the game, finding rhythm through Chinedu Ufere’s steady orchestration in midfield. He linked neatly with Salman and Nweke to carve a chance for Edidiong Ezekiel in the eighth minute, though the winger’s effort whistled past the post.
The hosts continued to probe, but Enyimba’s backline, anchored by Solomon and Afolayan, held firm. The People’s Elephant preferred to soak pressure and break quickly, winning a corner in the twenty-second minute that came to nothing.
By the half-hour mark, the game was evenly poised. Warriors enjoyed brief spells of possession, but clear-cut chances were few. A questionable free kick awarded to the hosts just outside Enyimba’s box in the thirty-second minute caused loud protests from the visitors’ bench, but the delivery went harmlessly wide.
The first half remained tight, tactical, and physical, with both sides testing each other’s patience. The referee and her assistants had their hands full maintaining calm as tempers flickered on both benches.
Halftime came with no goals, but plenty of tension.
After the restart, Enyimba came out with renewed focus. Kalu Nweke had the first effort of the half in the fiftieth minute, firing just wide after a neat exchange with Ufere. The match soon settled into a midfield tug-of-war, with both teams wrestling for control rather than creativity.
By the seventieth minute, the derby had turned into a chess match. Enyimba’s defense dealt comfortably with aerial threats, while Warriors’ midfield lacked imagination in the final third. The crowd began to grow restless.
Frustration crept in. Afolayan was booked in the eighty-fifth minute for dissent, as Enyimba’s bench pleaded for sharper finishing. Coach Stanley Eguma made attacking changes late on, sending in Chidera Michael and Jacob Jonathan for Atule and Bassey, and then Bright Emmanuel for Nweke in added time.
It was all in search of one decisive moment that never came. The final whistle would bring relief for the hosts and quiet frustration for the visitors.
A point in Umuahia is no disaster, but it is not cause for celebration either. Enyimba looked more organized, more disciplined, but not yet ruthless. The fight is back, the structure is back, but the cutting edge remains missing.
Still, there is progress. After a gloomy October, Enyimba have gone two games unbeaten and looked defensively solid once more. There was grit in every tackle and heart in every chase. Perhaps, this is how the climb begins — not with noise, but with patience.
But as we look ahead, one truth stands clear: a draw in a derby cannot be the summit of our ambition. Not for a club that once made fear its language.
So, while we take the point, we keep our questions:
Where is the spark? Where is the flair? Where is that relentless hunger that turns stalemates into statements?
Because the People’s Elephant should not just survive — it should dominate.
EnyimbaEnyi 💙
