The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the match played at Area 3 football pitch ended 1-1.
Enyimba opened scoring in the 9th minute through Peter Onyekachi, while El-Kanemi equalised in the 32nd minute through Chinedu Iheanacho.
Both teams had to settle for a penalty shootout to determine who progresses to the Round of 16.
Enyimba’s Coach, Paul Aigbogun, expressed joy after the match, but admitted that it was a difficult game.
“I want to thank God that the match ended the way it did, even though a lot of people expected us to have won at the end of regulation time.
“But the truth is that our opponents were not pushovers; they are also in the professional league and moreover, the federation cup is usually full of surprises.
“We started the game well but slowed down our momentum in the second half before picking up towards the end,’’ he said.
On his part, Coach Ladan Bosso of El-Kanemi Warriors praised his boys for putting up a good fight, adding that the lottery of the penalties was anybody’s game.
“It is one of those things in the game of football. When it comes to a situation like this, anybody can win and it is quite unfortunate that we lost.
“My players were jittery and could not compose themselves in front of goal and at the end we were only able to convert one goal from the spot.
“However, I still praise my boys for showing strength and character during the game, even though we missed the services of a lot of our key players today,’’ he said. (NAN)
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