Enyimba, on Sunday, May 16, 2021, lost 4-1 away to Egyptian side Pyramids FC in a first-leg quarterfinal tie. 

It was a game of shambolic defending from an Enyimba perspective after a fantastic start. 

Enyimba took the lead 52 seconds into the game through Victor Mbaoma, who disposed the goalkeeper to finish into an empty net. 

After scoring from a defensive blunder, Enyimba made several errors at the back themselves. 

In the 15th minute, Enyimba defender, Nelson Ogbonnaya, the last man before the goalkeeper, gave up possession to Ramadan Sobhi to score an equaliser. 

Ogbonnaya’s error was school-boy life. He wasn’t under pressure initially, but he seemed confused about making a backpass to the goalkeeper or clearing the ball. While he was taking time to make his mind up, he was dispossessed.

It was about to get worse. In the 49th minute, two Enyimba defenders clashed and fell, leaving room for Abdallah Said to finish past Enyimba goalkeeper John Noble for the host’s second of the game. 

Pyramids’ third goal didn’t come from any defensive error; with substitute, Ibrahim Adel acrobatically finishing off a cross for his first of two goals of the game. 

His second of the game, which was his side’s fourth, came from a defensive error. 

Enyimba defence was all over the place and got punished when a defender cleared the ball into the path of an opposition player. 

The player picked out Adel to round up, scoring for his side. 

Enyimba coach Fatai Osho blamed the errors on tiredness of his players.

"We had our game plan and going into the game they stuck to it. We saw a lot of promises in the first half," Osho said after the game.

"The second half we lost it when we started noticing a lot of tiredness. They started playing out of shape and exposed exposed themselves a lot."

Enyimba will now host the second leg on Sunday, May 23. with a three-goal deficit.