CAF Champions League: Enyimba seeks revenge against AS Real

Two-time Champions, Enyimba, has been charged to “make history” by defeating AS Real of Bamako and qualifying to the next stage of this year’s CAF Champions League, despite the odds stacked against them.
Enyimba face the real possibility of crashing out to their less fancied Malian opponents after their 1-2 loss at home to AS Real for the first time since 2005.
The club’s Chairman, Felix Anyansi Agwu, on arrival in Mali told the players not to dwell on their first leg defeat but to instead focus on advancing to the second round of the competition.
“This is not an unfamiliar position we find ourselves in,” Agwu told players and officials of the club. “We have been in situations where we needed to win away from home and we have achieved it, so this cannot be our end in this competition. We cannot crash out, not now, not here and you all have to belief this.
“What happened in Aba has happened. It is what happens here in Bamako that will count and what history will remember us for. They came to Aba and defeated us. It is now our moment to come here and defeat them and qualify. We must not let what happened last Sunday affect our morale or give us the feeling that they (AS Real) are better than us. This is a new game and we must seize the opportunity to make history for the club and for Nigeria.
“We must stand united as a team, as a team with a mission and not be distracted by anything we see here. The focus must be on the game on Saturday, nothing more. We are experienced in this competition and it is matches like this where experience matters and we must prove to the world that we are a great team, worthy of this competition and worthy of qualifying.”
Anyansi cited examples in Sudan and Cameroon where Enyimba snatched vital wins to progress in the tournament and encouraged the players to remain optimistic.
He stressed that the team must stand united and go out on Saturday with belief and with conviction.
He concluded by saying: “We are here in Mali and we have to believe that after Saturday’s match, we will start preparations for our next game. We must have no doubts about our capabilities. We have been presented with this opportunity to write history and we must take it. Our state and our country and millions of our fans around the world continue to have faith in us, we must not let them down. We must not let ourselves down. On Saturday, we will go out and we will defeat AS Real and we will.”