WE MUST TAKE OUR CHANCES AGAINST WYDAD – EMORDI

By NBF News

Enyimba's Technical Adviser, Okey Emodi is confident his side will brush aside visiting Wydad of Morocco in today's match. Emordi, who is still bitter over his side's four match-losing streak, said they must take their chances as they come if they must scale the Wydad's hurdle.

“We have to convert our chances. In football, if you don't take your chances, you won't win. So, we have addressed a lot of things as we look towards the future.” “We have to win convincingly on Sunday (today) and remove the memories of these last four games by booking our ticket to the final of the CAF Champions League.

My players know what is at stake, so everybody is going to prepare hard. Our response to the series of defeat has to be emphatic and swift. “We need to start getting positive results this time around,” Emodi said.

Victory in today's game will place the people's Elephant in the final of this year's CAF Champions League, which will probably give the team something to cheer about in a season that is almost turning on its head after losing the Federation Cup final and slumping on the league table with a slim hope of a successful title defence.

Enyimba's goal scoring sensation, Uche Kalu, is rearing to go. He has vowed to shoot down the North Africans. Kalu, who scored four times in the group stage and has been a major thorn in the flesh of every opposition as Enyimba went through its first 11 matches in the competition unbeaten. However, after losing the first leg of the semi-final 1-0 at Wydad Casablanca of Morocco, Kalu and the Aba-based team are now desperate to overturn that result for a place in the final.

'I have the task of nailing Wydad with at least two goals,' offered the enterprising striker, whose two older brothers also played football, though not at the highest level. 'It won't be easy, but we are fired up to make a name for ourselves and also, make Nigeria proud. Meanwhile, we want to feature at the FIFA Club World Cup. Long-serving club Chairman, Felix Anyansi-Agwu, has dismissed fears about the club's form after losing four games on the trot, insisting the players know what is expected of them this weekend.

Winning the 2011 Champions League is now the only ticket that will guarantee Enyimba an international football next year after the team also lost out to regional rival, Heartland FC in the Federation Cup competition last month. For its most important game in recent times, Enyimba has set up training camp in Enugu, about four hours drive from Aba to focus well on the task at hand.

This game is of added significance after Nigeria's national team, the Super Eagles, failed last weekend to qualify for the CAF Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in 25 years. With the citizens hungry for success, more goals from the boots of Uche Kalu on Sunday may take the People's Elephant closer to glory.