Late, late drama in Aba as Enyimba beat Orlando Pirates to qualify for quarterfinals
People's Elephant finish top of group due to superior head-to-head record
Enyimba secured their place in the quarterfinals of this season’s CAF Confederation Cup with a dramatic 1-0 win over South African side, Orlando Pirates at the Enyimba International Stadium in Aba.
In a completely dominant performance, Enyimba needed a 95th minute goal to book their qualification into the next phase of the competition. After 90 minutes of the tie, Enyimba were rock bottom of the group with the scores tied at 0-0. A late flurry of chances created by Enyimba ended with Tosin Omoyele scoring a goal which was disallowed for offside. They eventually scored a goal that counted when mercurial winger Anayo Iwuala played a low cross across the face of goal in the 5th of 6 additional minutes for midfielder Cyril Olisema to blast home beyond Pirates keeper, Wayne Sandilands, sparking wild celebrations from the home side. It marked the end of a crazy few minutes as Enyimba went from bottom to top of the group, knocking out North African sides Al Ahli Benghazi and ES Setif.
Enyimba will be in Friday’s draw and may face Cameroonian side Cotonsport Garoua, Tunisian side CS Sfaxien or Egyptian side Pyramids in the last 8 of the competition.
