Enyimba Assistant Coach, Okechukwu Ejeh, says Sunday’s home defeat by visiting Inter Lagos was a “very bad day for everyone in the Enyimba FC family”, Completesports.com reports.
Head Coach, Cameroon-born Emmanuel Deutsch, could not face the media after the game and instead delegated his assistant, Ejeh, who blamed his team’s defeat on their attackers’ wastefulness in front of goal.
Moses Ezekiel headed the Lagosians in front 19 minutes into the game, and Inter held on firmly to inflict Enyimba’s third consecutive defeat of the 2026/2027 EUROMATCH–NPFL season.
Enyimba Pay Dearly For Missed Chances
The defeat left the People’s Elephant without a point from a maximum nine, with a game in hand against 3SC. It is the first time in the club’s history that Enyimba have lost three consecutive league games.
Coach Ejeh captured the mood in the nine-time champions’ camp when asked about his feelings following the outcome of the match.
Also Read: EUROMATCH-NPFL: Enyimba Extend Unwanted League Record In Home Defeat To Inter Lagos
“Everybody is sad, honestly, it’s a sad day for everybody in the Enyimba family,” Ejeh responded in a pensive tone.
“We didn’t win. I think we didn’t really do badly in the game, like you all saw. Inter Lagos got their chance, I think, their only one chance in the game, and they converted it.
“But we got more than ten (10) chances in this game but we couldn’t convert any of them. That’s the game. When you fail to take your chances in a game, you end up getting punished. We really paid dearly for our wastefulness today.
“Creating chances in football is always difficult. But we did the most difficult one today but fell short of converting such chances.”
Enyimba Blame Strikers’ Wastefulness
Asked if he thought Enyimba’s strikers’ inability to convert the chances they created was the difference and perhaps where the team got it wrong in the game, Coach Ejeh responded in the affirmative.
“That’s the major problem today. Our inability to convert chances. But I think the weather condition also affected our game plan. We’re a ball-possession team. We always try to hold the ball and build up from the back, but because of the condition of the pitch, we tried to change that plan and resorted to ‘flighting’ the ball, using long balls, which affected some of the players.
“But we really did well with that pattern, just that we weren’t good at getting the second balls. And I think it’s a learning curve for the team. We’ll go back to work and see how we can fix that.”
Enyimba are without a single point from their three games so far. They will welcome Sporting Lagos in Wednesday’s Matchday 5 fixture in Aba.
People’s Elephant Target Sporting Lagos Response
Looking ahead to Wednesday’s clash against Sporting Lagos, Coach Ejeh said the two-time African champions will use the midweek game to bounce back to winning ways.
“I think we’ll come back better on Wednesday against Sporting Lagos, believe you me. We’ll come back stronger. I’ll tell the boys to be calm.
“This team is good. I believe in this team. There is no pressure yet because the league is still young. It’s a marathon, and it is just starting. We’ve just played three games. We’ll do well against Sporting Lagos.
“I think that will be a turning point in our season. Let the fans come out and give us their usual support, and we’ll make them happy. I’m positive that we’ll walk away after the game with the maximum three points. That’s my message to the fans.”
Enyimba occupy 20th position on the league table without a single point, following defeats to Niger Tornadoes (2-1), Doma United (2-0) and Inter Lagos (1-0).
