Following Rivers United qualification for the next round of the CAF Confederation Cup competition after beating South Africa’s Bloemfontein Celtic 5-0 on aggregate on Saturday, Enyimba team captain, Austin Oladapo, says he foresees a tough battle ahead of their February 14 encounter.
The Pride of Rivers beat their South African counterpart 3 – 0 in the reverse fixture played in Porto Novo, Benin Republic. They will face Enyimba in their next game on February 14.
Speaking with The Guardian yesterday, Oladapo, who said he envisaged a tough battle between the two clubs, added that the two-time CAF Champions League winners would always count on their experience in the continental championship to progress to the group stage of the competition.
“It is definitely going to be a very tough game for us knowing well that Rivers United are in top form and have done so well in the Confederation Cup so far. I know come February 14, it is going to be a battle of two titans.
“But there is one good thing about the Peoples’ Elephants: We are known for our pedigree in the continental championships. We know how to play a game like this, and we are definitely going to be counting on our experience to beat Rivers United to the ticket for the group stage,” he said. He added that Enyimba had better record in recent meetings between the two teams.
“The entire Enyimba squad is ready for that particular encounter against Rivers United. We have to qualify for the next round. We had upper hands in our recent meetings against them and I think we are ready for the game.
“Our fans should expect total victory from us having lost out in the Champions League group stage, which wasn’t easy for us to take because we were not happy about it. But this is another opportunity for us to step up our game in another competition, and we cannot afford to let down our fans this time around,” the former Gombe United FC striker stated.