ENYIMBA head coach Yemi Olanrewaju believes his side need to step up their game after barely squeezing through to the group phase of the CAF Confederation Cup.
The People’s Elephant advanced past Burkina Faso’s Etoile Filante 3-2 on penalties after their qualifying round tie ended 0-0 on aggregate.
“It was an unfortunate thing when we went to Mali and it could have been a one-legged game,” Olanrewaju said after yesterday’s second leg 0-0 draw in Uyo.
“I was impressed with the support we got from Akwa Ibom, it was massive, something encouraging.”
Olanrewaju, who replaced his former boss Finidi George as Enyimba head coach, admitted that his side could easily have been knocked out.
“But I wish we had ended the game before the penalties, considering the kind of chances that we missed, we must work on this. We were lucky to escape, we can’t go to the group stage missing chances like this, if we need to progress to the quarter-finals,” he added.
“Again, we didn’t play the way we normally play. There was a bit of anxiety from the lads. They were in a hurry for everything, they were not calm in the last third.
“Eventually, we have to give it to this young goalkeeper and everybody. We were lucky to have escaped and get to the group stage.”
Enyimba, the only Nigerian club left in this season’s continental competitions, will know their group opponents next month.
