By Wale Mustapha
Enyimba FC head coach Stanley Eguma has acknowledged the difficulty of his side’s hard-earned 2-1 victory over Enugu Rangers in Sunday’s fiercely contested Oriental Derby.
The People’s Elephants secured the crucial three points in their Matchday 35 Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) clash, thanks to first-half goals from Innocent Gabriel and Ekenne Awazie at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium.
Despite Enyimba’s early dominance, Rangers rallied in the second half and pulled one back through Chiedozie Okorie, but the Flying Antelopes fell short of completing the comeback.
Speaking after the game, a visibly relieved Eguma praised his team’s resilience and acknowledged the quality of the opposition.
“This is the biggest Oriental Derby game. It turned out to be a game of two halves,” Eguma said.
“We dominated the first half and scored twice. Rangers came out strong in the second half and got a goal. I respect them — they are a good side, but today, we came and won.”
With the victory, Enyimba climbed to fifth on the NPFL table with 52 points from 35 games. The Aba-based club will host Kwara United next in a Matchday 36 showdown at the Enyimba International Stadium.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. He began his career at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
