Enyimba captain, Chinedu Udoji, has said the team must beat Nasarawa United in their Federation Cup semifinal tie.
The People’s Elephant and the Solid Miners will battle for a place in the final on Saturday. The winners of the encounter will face IfeanyiUbah, who beat Crown 2-1 in the first semifinal.
The champions of the Federation Cup will represent Nigeria in the 2017 CAF Confederation Cup alongside Wikki Tourists.
Enyimba struggled throughout the just-concluded Premier League, finishing 10th in the table.
Udoji, who believes the Aba outfit will return to the continent next season, told our correspondent that they would aim to beat Nasarawa to enable them to realise their dream
“Last season was a disappointing one for us in the league. Although we got to the group stages of the CAF Champions League, we thought we could have done better. Nobody in the team is happy about how the season ended,” he said.
“We all really want to play on the continent again next season. The Confederation Cup is the only competition we can qualify for and we have focused our attention on the match against Nasarawa United. We have to try to win the Federation Cup to achieve our target.
“There are two games for us to play but if we beat Nasarawa United, then we will play just one. It was been a disappointing season for us but I believe that if we win the Federation Cup and qualify for the Confederation Cup, the management and fans will have something to smile about.”
Defender Razaq Aliyu promised Enyimba fans that the team would play continental football next season.
“The game is very important to us,” the club’s website quoted Aliyu as saying.
“Like everyone knows, we did not get a good position in the league and in the Champions League we did not do very well also, so this is our remaining opportunity to go back to the continent.
“Enyimba play on the continent every year, so we have to put in everything to make sure we get to the final and win it.”
credit: punchng