“THEY ESCAPED DEFEAT” — UKAEGBU REACTS AS ENYIMBA FALL 3–2 TO EL KANEMI

Interim Head Coach Lawrence Ukaegbu has stated that El Kanemi Warriors ‘escaped’ defeat in Maiduguri after watching his Enyimba side lose 2-3 in an entertaining five-goal thriller in the Nigeria Premier Football League {NPFL} on Sunday.

Daddy Abdulrahman and forward Emmanuel Jonas grabbed two first half goals in the 29th and 37th minutes respectively to put the hosts firmly in control, before the People’s Elephant pulled one back through midfielder Mohammed Hussaini, two minutes from the break.

Seven minutes after the restart, Jonas got his brace for the Warriors, but with 14 minutes left to play, Augustine Nwaorisa reduced the deficit, in a game Enyimba dominated possession and failed to convert so many scoring chances.

“It was a good match,” Ukaegbu said. “They really escaped defeat. It would have been a victory for us because of the chances we got.

“All the same, we are going back home to re-strategize and come out in a better shape.”

On the standard of the officiating, Ukaegbu praised center referee Kazeem Abdulsalam for doing a ‘perfect’ job, adding that the 2-time African champions would have won the encounter if the playing turf was smooth.

“The referee was perfect,” he added. “But the issue is that they should try and see what they can do about their pitch. If it was played on a better pitch, we won’t be talking like this – we would have won them.”

With the result, Enyimba occupy the 9th spot on the table, with 23pts from 18 matches, and host Shooting Stars next, as the first stanza of the season comes to an end on 28 December.