Lobi Slump 0-1 To Morocco’s Wydad In Enugu
Nigerian Premier League champions, Lobi Stars Football Club of Makurdi on Saturday in Enugu slumped to a 0-1 defeat in the hands of Wydad Athletic Club Casablanca of Morocco in Match Day 3 of 2018/2019 CAF Champions’ League competition.
The Makurdi side fell behind after just 19 minutes when Mohammed Nahiri scored the only goal of the Group A fixture from the penalty spot.
It was indeed a shocker for Lobi as the defeat dashed their hopes of nicking a second home victory in the continental competition.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) had acceded to shift the encounter earlier slated for Friday, February 1 by 24 hours, following a request by Lobi Stars that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential campaign rally was holding in Enugu on the same day.
Reacting to the loss, Lobi Stars’ Head Coach, Solomon Ogbeide, expressed unhappiness at the development, saying that the club did not dream of losing points at home.
“This is football and we lost, but we can make it up with other matches in the group.
“I believe that it is not yet over until it is over, because we can still win away from home.
“Though, it is going to be difficult now, we have no option than to give it our all to ensure we pick points in our next away games and make it up with our remaining home matches,” Ogbeide said.
He said the players gave their best, but the visitors were lucky to have utilized one of their goal scoring opportunities.
Ogbeide however said the team was no pushovers in the group, as they are returning home to Makurdi, the Benue State capital to resume preparations for the coming matches.
He said despite the unfavourable outcome of Saturday’s match, the team was determined to qualify from the group stage to the quarter-finals round.
In his remarks after the match, Wydad coach, Faouzi Benzarti, said they had a game plan which worked perfectly for them in Enugu.
“This is a vital win against one of the toughest clubs in our group and it is a boost for our confidence.”
According to him, “We know that our opponents were going to come out to attack us and that is why we did not waste time in converting our goal scoring chance in the first half.
“When they realised what was happening after the interval and raised their game, we tightened our back and did not yield to pressure from them.”
Lobi Stars’ next outing in the competition will be on Tuesday, February 12 when they visit Casablanca for the reverse fixture against the Moroccan side on Match Day four