The centre referee gets the second half underway

48 Sadiq Abubakar delivers a relatively close range freekick, evading all players in the box only for Stanley Okorom to launch it back inside the box, but a careless contact on Victor mbaoma by an Al merikkh defender inside the box results to a penalty

51′ penalty well taken by Victor Mbaoma.. its 2-1

54′ yellow card for Amr El Sayed as he brings down olisema who almost initiated a quick counter attacking play

63′ free kick at a promising position to Al Merrikh, the impressive saif terry being brought down at the edge of 18 yard box

65′ a weak acrobatic effort from samad kadiri off a Sadiq Abubakar’s cross ended in a foul as he raises his leg so high against an Al Merrikh defender.

67′ a close range goalkeeping heroics from the Al Merrikh goalkeeper as Samad Kadiri shoos from close range saves the blushes of the visitors from Omdurman. He parried it away resulting to a corner for Enyimba.

75′ Sadiq Abubakar shoots aimlessly inside the box after being sublimely released by the impressive Jean Marie Guera much to the displeased of the already disgruntled aba fans.

76′ substitution for Enyimba. Anthony Omaka comes on for olatunji matthew as Sadiq Abubakar makes way for Gabriel Orok

79′ free kick at a promising position for enyimba as Stanley Okorom is poised

80′ the goalkeeper comes to the rescue of the visitors

90′ Ref blows the final whistle, and Enyimba are out of the competition despite their 2-1 win over their opponents from Sudan, having lost the first leg by 3-0.

REPORTS BY GOSPEL LEKAMS (IN ABA)

First Half

1′ The centre ref gets the match underway

The spirit is so high in the stadium as the relatively few supporters are cheering the home side for an early minute opener

Cyril Olisema of enyimba seem to be dictating play in the middle of the park for the host

5′ Saif Terry drives inside the 18 yard box with pacy run, but a timely challenge from timothy danladi intercepted what could have been an early damage for the people’s elephant

8″ Saif Terry the same hero in omdurman opens the scoring for the visitors with a sublime finish, racing from the middle of the pitch, gone pass timothy danladi and slotted home from close range.. 1 nil to Al merrikh

11′ Amad Kadiri nods in a close range header from sadiq abubakar’s corner, only for a well positionally placed Al merikkh defender to intercept what could have been a leveller

14′ Victor Mbaoma levels from a close range. Thanks to stanlet okorom’s free kick which the goalkeeper failed to deal with. As the onrushing mbaoma taps home… its 1 all.

2 substitutions already in the opening half for enyimba,though it was influenced by different reasons.. one tactical, the other injury related

Nabil Abdel came in for timothy danladi, whilejean Marie Guera replaced the less impressive Farouk Mohammed

24′ Enyimba keeps possession as they try to surge in, still believing that there’s gonna be a comeback,

37′ Well-timed cross from Jean Marie Guera off the right flank almost resulted to a Victor Mbaoma’s header, but there’s a timely interception from an opposition defender… its still 1 all here in Aba

42′ the seemingly lively Sadiq Abubakar drives in from the left side of the pitch, his determined surge inside the box was eventually halted by the Al Merrikh right back. Free kick for Enyimba

43′ Stanley Okorom shoots from close range, but it was a weak effort from the right back.

45′ Stanley Okorom delivers a cross inside the box, only for the goalkeeper to mistime, Falling to Sadiq Abubakar, but his acrobatic effort yieded no dividend.

Enyimba keep pushing, still believing as they hold on firm to possession

45+ Al Merrikh coach gets his marching orders, as he is benig sent off. no thanks to his touchline misconduct

The centre referee brings the first half to an end.. its 1 all

HT: ENYIMBA 1-1 AL-MERRIKH

REPORTS BY GOSPEL LEKAMS (IN ABA)

Enyimba are billed to tackle Al-Merrikh of Sudan in an uphill task of cancelling the 3-0 deficit they recorded during the first leg encounter in the CAF Champions League.

The Sudanese have arrived the stadium for the big match against the Peoples Elephant.

Watch the video of their arrival:

Reports by Gospel Lekams (in Aba)

Mesut Ozil has signed a three-and-half year deal to join Fenerbahce from Arsenal, according to sensational reports in Turkey.

The £350,000-a-week German World Cup winner has not played a second for the Gunners this term.

Mikel Arteta left the 32-year-old winger out of both his Premier League and European squads as he appeared to try and force him out of the Emirates.

Ozil has now entered the final six months of his deal and is free to talk to clubs abroad, with clubs in the MLS and Turkey both linked with the ex-Real Madrid man.

Now reports from DHA in Turkey claim his Arsenal misery is over after he agreed to join Turkish giants Fenerbahce.

Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer insists Manchester United are ready to shake off their semi-final jinx.

The Red Devils lost in three last season including a two-legged EFL Cup tie with Manchester City, a 3-1 FA Cup reverse to Chelsea and European heartbreak against Sevilla.

They face their neighbours again at the same stage of the competition on Wednesday night but this time in a one-off game at Old Trafford.

And Solskjaer said: “We’ve improved immensely in a year since that last semi and since we were in the Europa League semi in August.

“We’ve earned the right to go all the way with our performances.

“We are confident with our form, so no excuses.

“We have prepared well, the squad is focused and ready to give it a go.”

Photo Credit: ManUtd/Twitter

Chelsea were reportedly warned against appointing Thomas Tuchel as manager a number of seasons ago as they weighed up replacing Antonio Conte.

Tuchel was tipped to take the Stamford Bridge hot seat in 2017 after his sacking as Borussia Dortmund boss.

Blues chiefs were concerned then-manager Conte would leave his role at the end of the 2016/17 season despite him leading the club to the Premier League title.

And managers including Tuchel and Massimiliano Allegri quickly staked their claims to take over in west London.

But Chelsea were fired a warning that Tuchel might prove just as troublesome as Conte or former boss Jose Mourinho, according to the Daily Telegraph .

The revelation comes as Tuchel is once again linked with the Chelsea job, with the club’s hierarchy exploring the possibility of replacing Frank Lampard.

Photo Credit: PSG_English/Twitter