CAF Champions League: Enyimba fall in Sudan to Al Merriekh

They were defeated 3-0 in their first-leg play-off tie against Al Al Merriekh on Wednesday.

The Peoples’ Elephant were hoping for a ‘decent’ result in Omdurman so the second leg coming up in Aba in a fortnight will be easier to prosecute. But that was not the case against the highly-technical Al Merikh side.

Coach Fatai Osho’s men had a poor start and were on the back foot early as Saif Terry got the opening goal for the home team just six minutes into the encounter.

While Enyimba were trying hard to equalise in the first half, Al Merriekh launched a counter-attack and Saif was on hand to double the lead for the home team.

In the second half, Enyimba chased the game, but against the run of play the home team increased their lead in the closing minutes of this encounter with a glancing header from inside the six-yard box.

Saif was the hero for Al Merikh yet again as he completed his hat trick.

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Having been eliminated from this stage of the Champions League last season, Enyimba face the risk of suffering the same fate and also against a Sudanese club yet again.

With the expected return of the likes of Victor Mbaoma for the second leg tie, Enyimba will still nurse some level of hope to progress ahead of their opponents.