A fine strike by Tobi Iyanda in the 15th minute was enough to hand Enyimba all three points in their Oriental Derby clash with Kun Khalifat on Sunday.
It was the visitors who scared Enyimba in the first minute when Onuoha Uchechukwu whipped in a cross but Oparaocha failed to get his head to it. The Elephants took over possession afterwards, with Obichere getting in crosses into the box but it failed to meet Tobi and Ihemekwele respectively.
The goal finally came in the 15th minute when Obichere drove past Khalifat’s players to send a low cross into the box and a waiting Iyanda slotted home.
Enyimba got a chance to get a second goal in the 20th minute after Ameh handled the ball in the box but Esomchi dived to his right to deny Ihemekwele a goal. Idris Abubakar got a shoulder injury and was replaced with Suraj Ibrahim, later Richards was also down, sending concerns to the bench of the Elephants.
Ganiu set up Ihemekwele just one minute after the break but the flag was up to truncate Enyimba’s fiery attack and a chance for Ihemekwele to redeem himself. The hosts pushed to get a goal but Esomchi denied Obichere in the 54th minute.
Ganiu got a good chance too after a fine pass from Iyanda but his effort went inches off target. Again, Ganiu split the defense of the visitors with a pass to substitute, Chidera Michael but Esomchi reacted quickly to kick the ball away. Ameh threw in a decisive tackle in the 79th minute to block Ganiu who was running to meet Esomchi after a quick pass from Chidera.
There was a scare for Chibueze Damian who had a head-on collision late in the game but he later finished well.
The Elephants have started well in November and will hope to start a winning streak when they meet Ranchers Bees in Kaduna on Sunday.
