By Emeka Dennar

Enyimba coach Fatai Osho says his side’s second leg CAF Confederation Cup playoff fixture against domestic rivals Rivers United ‘won’t be an easy task’ but remains optimistic the 2-time African champions will advance to the group stage of the competition.

Osho’s men enjoy a 1-0 advantage from the first leg in Aba ahead of Sunday’s reverse fixture at the Adokiye Amiesimaka stadium in Port Harcourt, with overall winners progressing to the lucrative group stage of CAF’s second-tier inter-club competition.

“It’s not going to be an easy task, we are quite aware of that,” the former Remo Stars gaffer said about the second leg.

“Looking at the quality of our opponent and looking at what happened in the first leg, none of the teams will be so sure of getting the ticket because the two teams look equally matched, we have to be honest to ourselves.

“And coming in here (Port Harcourt), it won’t be an easy task, but we want to be optimistic that we will scale this hurdle.”

To ‘scale this hurdle’ on Sunday, Osho and his Enyimba side will have to do it without their in-form striker Tosin Omoyele, who was sent off for retaliation with 15 minutes left in the first leg.

The Enyimba tactician described the striker’s absence as ‘a big miss’, adding that it is ‘quite unfortunate’.

“He is a player that is in the best shape of his life,” Osho said of Omoyele, who has scored 3 goals in his last three NPFL matches for Enyimba.

“We would have loved him to be here playing along with us, but unfortunately, the red card which is no fault of anybody than his. There is no way you allow that to happen. You don’t retaliate in football. No matter what, discipline has to play a big role if the team is to have success.

P“It’s a big miss, and it is quite unfortunate.”