Enyimba FC head coach Yemi Olanrewaju shared his insights on the tactical changes that helped his team secure a goalless draw against Shooting Stars in Ibadan on Sunday.
This result allowed Enyimba to maintain their unbeaten record against their rivals in Matchday 6 of the 2024/25 NPFL season.
Playing at the Lekan Salami Stadium, the People’s Elephants have now gone three consecutive league matches without conceding a goal since their earlier defeat to Rivers United in Port Harcourt.
In his post-match comments, Olanrewaju emphasized the importance of sticking to their game plan, particularly given the context of last season’s victory over Shooting Stars.
“Yeah, it was a good game; I knew it was going to be a tough game. “I told the boys, I had to preempt their mindset because last season when we came here, we won. And I don’t think they would close their eyes for it to happen again.
So I knew we were going to play against everything, and that the crowd will be behind their team.
And that’s exactly what happened, but we prepared for it, forcing them to play the long balls, then had to pick the second balls and try to catch them on the count; one or two times, we got t, hat, but we couldn’t capitalize on it.”
When questioned about whether Enyimba was fortunate to avoid conceding a goal, Olanrewaju responded,
“I wouldn’t say that because we created more scoring opportunities; they didn’t create much except for the set pieces; unlike us, we played to the last third to create one or two chances. They resulted in long balls and Conner kicks, and that was their only threats, but I have to give it to Shooting Star.
He acknowledged the effort of Shooting Stars, stating, “They had a good game today, a fantastic performance from them against us.”
