Enyimba International Football Club of Aba and Remo Stars FC of Ikenne, Nigeria’s representatives in the 2023/2024 CAF Champions League, have exited the competition on home soil.
This was after the preliminary round matches at Aba and Ikenne, respectively, where both teams had the opportunity to play at home, neither side managed to take advantage of it.
In Aba, Abia, Libya’s Al Ahly Benghazi held Enyimba to a 0-0 draw, and in Ikenne, Ogun, Ghana’s Medeama SC defeated Remo Stars 3-2 on penalties.
As a result of Felix Kyei, the goalkeeper for Medeama SC, spilling a corner into his own net at Ikenne, Remo Stars were able to tie the score for the night, 1-1 overall.
Remo believed they had scored the winning goal in the waning moments of the return leg tie, but their attempt was disallowed for offside as the game headed to the roulette of a penalty knockout.
The visitors won the ensuing shootout, scoring three goals to move to the competition’s opening round.
Enyimba, the defending Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) champions, was defeated 4-3 overall.
The game was won by Finidi George’s team, however they fell short due to poor shooting.
To the dismay of Aba supporters and Enyimba authorities led by recently appointed chairman Kanu Nwankwo, the visitors sat back and put up a determined effort to block Enyimba’s attack, resulting in a scoreless match.
At the conclusion, the home crowd had nothing to celebrate about because Enyimba would have advanced to the second round with a 1-0 victory.
The People’s Elephant and Remo Stars will now focus their efforts on getting ready for the upcoming NPFL season, which is anticipated to begin next month (September 2023).
