Enyimba’s CAF Confederation Cup crucial return leg game against Burkina Faso’s Étoile Filante and their Matchday 3 fixture in the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) against Akwa United is just three days apart. Surely this is a concern for Enyimba head coach Yemi Olanrewaju also known as Yema as he hopes to guide his side to the group stage in the continent while also ensuring that things move on a steady and consistent pace at the home front.
“We’re focused on the game against Étoile Filante because it is important we win so that we reach the group stage. The first leg we had the chance to win it but didn’t take our chances. At the same time, I have to plan ahead for the midweek game against Akwa United but first we must put every focus on the match against Étoile Filante,” he told Thatenyimbafan.com.
The Enyimba head coach is not a novice when it comes to elite football as he’s had a fair of playing with top sides in the NPFL like Kwara United, Crown FC and Ocean Boys. So he knows the time to wring changes in his starting sides will always occur in the course of the season especially now that fixtures are coming thick and fast owing to continental involvement. So Yema will have to look up his playing personnel to decide who plays their next three games in the space of eight days.
The People’s Elephant will face Étoile Filante this Sunday (September 22) and then follow it up with a midweek fixture with Akwa United (September 25) and a trip to Port Harcourt to face Rivers United, who now have an old employee of theirs in Finidi George, on September 29. Just imagine the quality of opposition in the space of eight days.
So who gets to rest and who gets to start and in which games? I expect a full-strength side against Étoile Filante because it is a game with so much importance with the group stage of the CAF Confederation Cup in sight. Too much changes should not be expected from the side that played the Burkina Faso club in the first leg though the like of Joseph Atule, Kalu Nweke and Somiari Alalibo are pushing for starting places, I understand.
The home game against Akwa United in the NPFL could see Yema decide to give the like of Clinton Jephtha, Moses Adikwu and Fatai Abdullahi who have started both competitive matches minutes to rest before they suffer early burnout. This should pave way for others who have been on the fringes to get their first start of the season. Goalkeeper Ani Ozoemena, Elijah Akanni, Pascal Eze, Ifeanyi Ihemekwele and Nweke are among those waiting for their first competitive start of the season.
However, it is the game at Rivers United on September 29 that will be interesting. Yes, Yema will face his former boss Finidi head-to-head for the first time since the former Super Eagles winger left Enyimba. Surely, Yema will want to prove he is ready to ruffle the big names after seeing another former Super Eagles winger in Emmanuel Amuneke after that 3-1 win at Heartland on the opening day. So I see him playing a full-strength side at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium in Port Harcourt when he meets his former boss in what I expect many to tag ‘a clash of master versus apprentice.’
Definitely the eight days of three key fixtures will be a task for Yema to prove he is wired up for the pressure of handing a big club like Enyimba when games start coming rapidly.
