Eguma: We were made to pay for a sluggish start

Today at 06:10 AM

Enyimba head coach Stanley Eguma was disappointed to only claim a 1-1 with Al Masry in Uyo on Sunday, stating they showed the Egyptian team too much respect.

The Peoples’ Elephant were looking for revenge after suffering a 2-0 defeat to the Green Eagles in their CAF Confederation Cup Group D opener on November 27.

However, the hosts conceded early on again as Mohamed Hashem opened the scoring in the eighth minute at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, having taken just five minutes to break the deadlock in the reverse fixture as well.

Ifeanyi Ihemekwele found a reply on 47 minutes to earn Eguma’s side a share of the spoils, although the point did little to aid their quarter-final hopes.

Defending champions Zamalek booked their place in the knockout phase with a 3-1 victory over Black Bulls, but the runners-up spot is still very much up for grabs as the other three clubs are separated by just two points.

Eguma was confident of securing maximum points against the Port Said outfit which would have taken them into second place, only to see his game-plan come apart due to a sluggish start from his players.

“It was really unfortunate that we couldn’t win the game. We had actually prepared and planned to win it,” Eguma said.

“We trained very hard and mapped out strategy to beat our opponents. But unfortunately, the Al Masry team came to play a game of their lives here.

“But I think we respected them so much, especially in the first half. We were lethargic in our approach and that caused the early goal we conceded. That goal, I think, demoralised us so much.

“And most of these players have not played at this level before. They are playing at this level for the first time. It affected them.

“But in the second half, when we equalised, we had series of chances to win the game. But we faltered in front of goal. I think that was our undoing. Otherwise, it would have been a different result.”

Enyimba need to beat the White Knights in Cairo on January 19 and hope that Al Masry slip up against the Bulls in Alexandria to stand a chance of advancing to the last eight of the competition.