Underrate Etoile at Your Peril, Ikhana Warns Enyimba

CAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC) Head Coach, Kadiri Ikhana, has said that Nigerian champions, Enyimba will be knocked out of this season’s CAF Champions League today if they underrate their Tunisian opponents, Etoile Sportive du Sahel.

Enyimba go into today’s second leg, second round clash with a 3-0 advantage from the first leg which saw the competition’s top scorer, Mfon Udoh weigh in with a hat-trick.

The People’s Elephant will progress to the group stage of the competition if they avoid a four-goal margin defeat to the Diables Rouges (Red Devils) at Stade Olympique de Sousse, Sousse starting at 6pm Nigerian time.

“It will be dangerous for Enyimba if they think they have qualified for the group stage because they beat Etoile 3-0 in the first leg.
“I spoke to some members of the Enyimba technical crew and explained to them that it is not over (against Etoile).

“North African teams can easily turn around even a four-goal deficit and as such, 3-0 against Etoile is not really such a big deal,” Ikhana told supersport.com.

The experienced trainer, who led Enyimba to their first CAF Champions League title in 2003, also warned that the weather conditions in Sousse this evening could be an important factor in the eventual outcome of the game.

The temperature in Sousse is expected to drop to 16 degrees on Wednesday evening when the game will kick off.
“At this time of the year, the weather in Sousse is quite cold, especially when you compare it with what you have in Nigeria now.

“The Enyimba players should approach the game as though they did not score even a single goal in the first leg. This Etoile team can actually score six goals at home.
“However, I am confident in this Enyimba team. They have players who can get the job done.
“If they play with the right attitude, I am sure they will get as far as the final of this year’s CAF Champions League,” he concluded.