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Humbled Bakili Bullets said on arrival from their disastrous Nigeria foray on Wednesday that a heavy downpour was instrumental in their 6-0 lashing at the hands of defending champions Enyimba in a group A Caf Champions League match staged in the Southeastern town of Aba on Sunday.
Captain Peter ‘Mjojo’ Mponda, coach Kinnah Phiri and general secretary Ophman Kondowe blamed their massacre on the cloud-burst prior to the match which they claimed frustrated them from their usual sleek passing game.
But the routinely blunt Mponda took it on the chin and confessed that apart from the wet conditions, the West Africans are miles ahead.
“The heavy rains that came prior to the match betrayed us. We could not play our usual pass-and-move game, the pitch was all muddy and we could not even lift the ball.
“But having said that, let me also confess that Enyimba are a couple of miles ahead and they were a bit too good for us,” said Mponda who was flanked by his wife.
The Bullets captain also confessed that their chances to make it into the semis of the unique showcase look very scary.
“Of course we cannot count ourselves out at this point. But we have to make sure we beat Ivory Coast’s Africa Sports both home and away and at least get another win against either Enyimba here at home or Etoile Sahel in Tunisia,” said Mponda.
Taking his turn Kondowe pointed a finger at the officiating personnel for turning its back on their request to postpone the match due to the muddy conditions of the pitch.
“Just before the game, officials from both sides went to inspect the water-logged pitch to see if we could play. The referees tried to bounce the ball and it stuck in the mud and I asked the match commissioner from Eritria to say look...the pitch is water logged and we cannot play and I asked him to postpone the match and he agreed.
“But all of a sudden we saw him talking to the refs and then later the refs went into the pitch and called the teams stating that the game would still be played despite the bad conditions of the pitch and if you watch the game, you will be disappointed, you will sympathise with the boys,” mourned Kondowe adding: “The situation was a big advantage to our opponents because they are used and they put on the suitable boots.”
Kinnah equally blamed it on the rain saying: “The game was quite OK The only problem that we had was the rain, much as the boys tried, it couldn’t work out. The odds were heavily stuck against us because of the down pour.
“I would say technically we were level and I promise the soccer fraternity that they will see something different in the return match and they will not believe it, otherwise Enyimba are not any better
“In fact, Sahel are a better side than Enyimba, they should thank the rains,” said Kinnah who also insisted that his team’s chances are still there.
The club’s supporters’ chair James Kalulu described the loss as the worst in the history of the clubs.
“I was really shocked when I heard the result but I knew that there must have been something serious that happened and again we have to look at the opposition, Enyimba are an experienced side,” said Kalulu.
The Bullets arrived at exactly 12.30PM abroad South African Airways with sheepish faces but smartly dressed in their new maroon blazers, white shirts, matching maroon neckties and grey trousers.
They were met on arrival by the team’s vice general secretary Ibrahim Patel.
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