October 17, (THEWILL) – Enyimba won 1-0 against Diambars FC thanks to a late penalty conversion by Cyril Olisema, giving coach Finidi George a winning start as Enyimba manager in Saturday’s Confederation of African Football (CAF) Confederation Cup fixture.
Olisema kept his cool after Orok Gabriel was hacked inside the box with three minutes left to fire the People’s Elephant to a significant road win against the Senegalese National League 1 club in the continental fixture.
Finidi’s first selection as Enyimba coach included full debuts for Olorunleke Ojo, Adekunle Adeleke, Fatai Abdullahi, and Samuel Kalu, as well as first Confederation Cup appearances for Somiari Alalibo and Frank Esobe.
The Nigerians had to weather some stormy weather early on, with Ojo making a fine save to prevent Bilal Yakubu’s ball from going into his net, followed by two more saves from the keeper.
The visitors had their chances as well, with Sadiq Abubakar and Fatai Abdullahi both attempting long-range shots.
However, it was in the closing stages of the game that substitute Orok won the ball in his half and raced to the other end before being stopped in the box by an infringement.
Enyimba took the lead in the CAF Confederation Cup preliminary round tie when Olisema then stepped up to convert the penalty kick.
On Sunday, October 24, the Enyimba Stadium will host the second leg of the tie at their stadium in Aba.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
