Julius Okorie
Enyimba, who have since crashed out the CAF Confederation Cup, after losing to Zamalek of Egypt, face Heartland of Owerri, in Oriental derby at the Aba Township Stadium today.
Recent outings by both teams have neither been here nor there, with chains of unimpressive results. Enyimba, 9th on the league table with 27 points in 19 matches, have only managed a 2-1 win over Nasarawa United in the last five matches, losing to Kano Pillars, Kwara United and Zamalek respectively with a 1-1 draw against Al Masry in between.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelHeartland, led by former international, Emmanuel Amuneke, have not fared better in their last five matches.
The Owerri landlords have only manage a lone goal victory over Lobi Stars with points picked in their 1-1 draw against Bendel Insurance and earlier 0-0 draw against Lobi in Gameweek 19.
Hitherto dubbed the Nazi Millionaires, Heartland currently 13th position on the log with 25 points in 20 matches.
Meanwhile, Remo Stars continued their exploit with a 3-2 win over Abia Warriors on Wednesday.
The Ikenne based side, who have now enjoyed four matches unbeaten run maintain their number one position with 42 points in 21 matches, with Shooting Stars following closely with 36 points in 20 matches.
There are no immediate signs that defending champions, Rangers International will replicate the feat they achieved last season as they are currently 6th after 2-1 loss to Elkanemi Warriors on Wednesday.
It will be the third defeat for the Flying Antelopes in the last five matches. In other results recorded midweek, Bayelsa United demolished Sunshine Stars of Akure 4-1 Ikorodu City did the same to Kano Pillars, just as Shooting stars beat Nasarawa United 2-0.
Aside from Enyimba against Heartland derby, other matches lined up today include Niger Tornadoes against Kwara United, Rivers against Bendel Insurance and Kastina United against Plateau United.
Meanwhile, Enyimba’s new man, Brown Ideye, has called for improvement of the league, insisting that a lot needs to be done before it can be called topflight league. He noted that players’ welfare in the league is still nothing to write home about.
“The system is getting worse, the league is not getting better. I feel like we have a long way to go. My time with Enyimba has been wonderful but a lot of things in the league has to improve.”
Apparently disappointed over the Peoples Elephant early exit from the Confederation Cup, Ideye opined that Nigerian teams often struggle in international competitions due to inadequate preparation: “We are not ready to compete continentally. The Nigerian teams who qualify for continental tournaments, if they want to say the truth, ask them how they prepare for the games.”
READ ALSO:How Enyimba Crashed out Of CAF Confederation Cup In Egypt
Areas requiring improvement according to the former Super Eagles ace, include travel arrangements, food, accommodation, and player relaxation. He stressed that these issues must be addressed before Nigerian teams can hope to succeed in international competitions.
He said: “Travelling is bad, feeding is bad, hotel accommodation is bad, player relaxation is bad. We should put our house together before going to play continentally instead of going there to disgrace ourselves.”
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
