Twenty-two goal attempts. Seven on target. Seventy percent ball possession. Six big saves by Niger Tornadoes goalkeeper Yusuf Mohammed. Those were the numbers that Enyimba churned out in their 1-1 draw at home against Niger Tornadoes on Wednesday. I am sure it would feel terrible for Enyimba fans that after taking a crucial point away from Ibadan, they returned to Aba and dropped points.
So what really went wrong on Wednesday?
Truthfully the stats I reeled out from the game have not lied one bit. Goalscoring remains a fundamental problem in the team. Even Enyimba head coach, Yemi ‘Yema’ Olanrewaju acknowledged that much after the game and even believed that they should have been out of sight against their opponents.
“I feel terribly bad. This is because the first 20 minutes was hell. We didn’t come to the party; I’m so disappointed. Before they scored, we could have scored three or four goals. We need to improve on (our) goalscoring. If we must win the league we must improve. Initially we thought the defence was our problem, we worked on that and we improved,” Yema opened up after the draw at home.
I understand some people are already questioning Yema’s competence as the club’s head coach, I think that is coming too early. He’s been in charge of nine matches so far and lost just one (W4 D4 L1). I still remember when Finidi George took charge in September 2021, and his team had a mixed run of results, the knives were pulled out but he went on to win the league. Anyway let’s leave this for another discourse.
Back to the Niger Tornadoes game. A few players were guilty of missing gilt-edged scoring chances. Yeah those who watched would point to chances missed by Ekene Awazie and Captain Alalibo Somiari but these things happen in the game, and even the greatest players often have their off-days in front of goal.
The good thing remains Yema knows he needs to find a way around the goalscoring conundrum. “We need to improve on (our) goalscoring if we must win the league we must improve,” Yema harped on.
Next game is in Maiduguri against El-Kanemi Warriors this Sunday. It’s always a tortuous trip mentally and physically to the Northeast. In the words of Yema, I agree Enyimba “have to recover this point” lost to Niger Tornadoes in midweek.
ENYIMBA v NIGER TORNADOES STATS
Possession 70%-30%
Shots (on target) 22(7)-11(4)
Saves 3-6
Corners 5-1
Yellow cards 1-3
Red cards 0-0
