TheCable

Austin Oladapo, captain of Enyimba football club, has condemned the officiating of the referee despite the team’s 2-1 victory over ES Setif.

The 25-year-old midfielder expressed his displeasure during a chat with TheCable after the CAF confederation cup match in Aba on Sunday evening.

Oladapo said the People’s Elephants won the match despite the referees’ “poor” officiating and “harsh” decisions that were taken “to get at us.”

Ahmed Djama, a Djiboutian referee, was in charge of the game.

A goal each from Oladapo and Tosin Omoyele cemented Enyimba’s impressive comeback against the Algerian side. The Nigerian club moved top of group A and kept their hopes burning for a quarter-final spot.

However, the team’s captain picked out holes in the referee’s performance which, according to him, almost cost them the game.

“The officiating wasn’t good for us. We were supposed to have another penalty in the second half when Anayo [Iwuala] was fouled in the box but the referee waved it and didn’t blow,” he said.

“The referee was too harsh on us; trying to make sure he gets at us. But at the end of the day, we were able to stand strong. The officiating wasn’t nice. We were able to overcome it.”

Oladapo lost a penalty earlier in the game as Sofiane Khedairia, Setif’s goalkeeper, guessed right and tipped the midfielder’s spot-kick away.

Commenting on the missed penalty, the former Gombe United’s star said he was motivated to remedy his gaffe by getting a goal.

“I wasn’t discouraged after missing that penalty, even great players miss penalties. It’s part of football: sometimes you score, sometimes you don’t,” he said.

“Unfortunately I missed. The miss then became a motivation for me to get on the score-sheet and make the team come alive.”

Oladapo also said the team never stopped believing and recognising the importance of the match while they were trailing.

“We just know we’ve to win to keep our quarter-final hope alive. We know how this game is to us, even when we were down, we were encouraging ourselves. We kept talking to ourselves and the encouragement worked,” he added.

Al Ahly Benghazi and Orlando Pirates, the two other teams in the group, played a goalless draw in their late game on Sunday. The result buoyed Enyimba’s position at the summit with six points.

The People’s Elephants will begin the second round of group games with a return leg in Setif, Algeria, on April 11.