Stanley Eguma, Coach of Enyimba International FC of Aba, has blamed his team’s 1-1 draw on Thursday against visiting Heartland FC of Owerri in the Nigeria Premier Football League match day 21 in Aba on fatigue.
The match, played at the Enyimba International FC Stadium, saw Daniel Ekpo scoring for the visitors in the 18th minute through a penalty.
Joseph Atule got an equaliser for the hosts in the 55th minute to put smiles on the faces of the supporters.
Coach Eguma in an interview with newsmen said that his team’s target was to win but ended up getting a point from the match.
He said: “We expected to win but we got a draw and that is what makes the match a Derby, we expected it to be tough.
“I know they are going to come out smoking and throw in everything, considering the fact that we defeated them in their home in the first round.
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“We played well because my players have been playing two matches every week, one in the continent and the NPFL match, so they are battling fatigue.
“Enyimba still remain Enyimba, so we are going to keep this result aside and look forward for better games ahead because the league is a marathon.”
On his part, Coach Emmanuel Amuneke of Heartland FC expressed satisfaction over his team’s performance, saying his team deserved to win.
Amuneke said: “I think it was an interesting game, entertaining and an exciting one because the two teams performed to expectations.
“Enyimba is a big team and we needed to recognise that but we came up here with some tactical and behavioural control.
“The players played well and the good thing in this match is that we picked a point and we are going to continue to work to strengthen all the departments.”
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Enyimba maintained ninth position with 28 points from 20 matches, while Heartland occupied 13th position with 26 points from 21 matches.
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