Enyimba of Aba defender, Ifeanyi Anaemena has disclosed how excited he is with his side’s victory away to TS Galaxy of South Africa in the second leg of their CAF Confederation Cup final qualifier, as he believes it shows the quality they are capable of exhibiting in the group stage, megasportsarena.com reports.
Anaemena admitted during Mega Sports on Star 101.5 FM, Lagos that many Nigerians had written them off, despite their 2-0 win in the first leg played in Aba, as the margin appeared too close to call, but he pointed out that all players in The Peoples’ Elephant knew just what they needed to do to pull through in the reverse fixture on Sunday at Mbombela Stadium Nelspruit.
Ghanaian defender Daniel Darkwah put Enyimba ahead in the 76th minute and Martins Usule, who scored the second goal in the first leg, put the game beyond the hosts eight minutes from time and, though Galaxy scored a minute from time through Siyaduma Mashego, Anaemena was excited seeing his side come out on top and advance 4-1 on aggregate.
The win on Sunday came few hours before Rangers International of Enugu edged past ASC Kara of Togo 1-0 at Nnamdi Azikwe International Stadium, to also go through to the second-tier continental clubs’ competition group stage on the away goals rule.
The Togolese champions won the first leg playoff 2-1 at Stade de Kegue in Lome a week back, before Rangers rallied back to win in Enugu on Sunday, as Chinonso Eziekwe scored the all-important lone goal after 17 minutes, but there was there was a moment of anxious drama in the second half when officials claimed they discovered ‘juju’ in Kara’s goalpost.
Action resumed after the officials appeared to destroy whatever they had seen, and the visitors then chased the game in search of an equalizer, but failed all through to get a single goal that would have fetched them the result they needed to progress, as Rangers qualified on the away goals rule after aggregate score from both legs stood at 2-2.
It means Nigeria now has two clubs in the group stage of the Confederation Cup, after Enyimba, who stepped down after their ouster from the CAF Champions League, booked their place 4-1 on aggregate, with a 2-1 win away to TS Galaxy of South Africa, haven won the first leg 2-0 in Aba; and Anaemena was left singing praises for his team’s efforts and charting the next course ahead.
Anaemena declared: “It was a good thing to win away. The fans and many people did not think it was possible. I am happy we did it, and now we are thinking about the group stage. Our target is the final. The last time we played in the continental competitions we got to the semi-finals. We wanted to reach the final, but it did not work. So, this time around, I am sure we will get there.”