By

Emeka Godwin Onyeacho 

 

The Enyimba International Stadium, Aba, was left in stunned silence on Sunday evening as newly promoted Warri Wolves FC pulled off one of the biggest shocks of the season, defeating Enyimba FC 2–1 in their NPFL Matchday 9 encounter.

Standing in for Technical Adviser Stanley Eguma, Assistant Coach Ndubuisi Nduka could barely hide his disbelief after the final whistle, describing the result as “a very bitter pill to swallow” and “like a thunderbolt.”

“This is a very bitter pill, very difficult. I don’t know how to explain it. When I flash back to our performances from week one through to week seven, and see how things have gone into tatters from week eight, it’s painful,” Nduka said, visibly crestfallen during the post-match press conference.

The loss compounds Enyimba’s recent struggles, following a home draw with Rivers United and back-to-back defeats to Khun Khalifat FC and now Warri Wolves — results that have rattled the nine-time league champions.

“After our game in Owerri where we lost to Khun Khalifat, we met and the boys promised to make things right. We did everything right — prepared well, gave them rest, worked on our tactics. But football can be very funny sometimes. Today, we got the worst result,” Nduka lamented.

The match began with an unfortunate twist for Enyimba. In the 18th minute, defender Mohammed Hussaini’s attempted clearance ricocheted into his own net, gifting the visitors a shock lead. The People’s Elephant responded swiftly, and Ezekiel Edidiong’s clinical finish in the 27th minute restored parity and reignited belief in the stands.

However, despite waves of second-half pressure and numerous chances, Enyimba couldn’t convert dominance into goals. The decisive moment came in the 66th minute when Wolves’ forward Tejiri Emonena fired home what proved to be the winner — silencing the Aba crowd and sealing a historic win for the Warri side.

“We’ve played tougher matches here and still came out of it. But today, we didn’t quite get it right. We’ll take a hard look at our mistakes, identify the problems, and fix them,” Nduka said with determination.

Still, the assistant coach remains upbeat that the People’s Elephant will rediscover their rhythm.

 “We are not going to give up. We’ll talk to ourselves, know where we got it wrong. It’s not something emotions will solve. We’ll face the realities and find solutions. Whatever the problem is, we’ll sort it out — and it’s going to start showing from our next match,” he assured.

The People’s Elephant will now look to regroup, refocus, and reignite their campaign as they prepare for the next NPFL challenge against Plateau United in Jos next Sunday— with a resolve to make the thunderbolt in Aba the turning point in their season.