EuroMatch NPFL: Inter Lagos Boss Giwa Hails Ezekiel For Decisive Strike Against Enyimba

Inter Lagos head coach Shakiru Giwa has praised teenage forward Moses Ezekiel after his 19th-minute goal secured a crucial victory over Enyimba in Aba, ending the Lagos-based side’s three-match winless start to the 2026/27 NPFL campaign.

Giwa Reacts To Stunning Victory

Giwa, a former Enyimba player who also featured for Julius Berger of Lagos and Bnei Yehuda of Israel, spoke during the post-match press conference after Inter Lagos stunned the nine-time champions and two-time CAF Champions League winners in a fiercely contested encounter.

For 19-year-old Ezekiel, the goal was his first of the campaign and, according to Giwa, could prove significant in the youngster’s development.

“He’s still a young player. He’s so far played two or three games, and I think scoring a goal, an important goal like that against an African giant team like Enyimba, will give him confidence and boost his career going forward,” Giwa said.

The victory was Inter Lagos’ first of the season after defeats to 3SC (2-1), Doma United (1-0) and Sporting Lagos (3-0) in their opening three fixtures.

Unexpected Victory For Visitors

Giwa admitted that few people expected his side to get a result in Aba following their difficult start to the season.

“To start with, we really have to thank God for everything. We’ve played three games before now and we lost all, which, going by those results, nobody gave us any chance coming into this game,” Giwa stated.

“But we put our acts together, knowing that in this NPFL, we’re coming to play in it for the first time. The team is just three years old today.

“So, for us to come here and play against a team like Enyimba — a giant team in Africa — because Enyimba is a massive team in Nigeria and on the continent of Africa, it’s a good thing for us.

“It’s a sign for us that we can go back to the drawing board, do some corrections and then consolidate on this win. It will boost the morale of the young players that we’re working with. It’s a good thing for us and we say thank God for everything.”

Shower Of Blessing

The match was played in difficult weather conditions following heavy rainfall in Aba about two hours before kick-off, with the intensity of the rain fluctuating throughout the encounter.

However, Giwa jokingly described the downpour as a “shower of blessing” for his team.

“We call it ‘shower of blessing’. You can say it’s in our favour because, for us to come here and win is a blessing to us after we lost three games back-to-back,” he said.

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“It’s a ‘shower of blessing’ to us. Even my GM has just told me twice now that, assuming there was no rain, it could have been more than one goal because we played good football.”

Inexperience Affected Team

The Inter Lagos coach also attributed his side’s slow start to the season to their late preparation and the inexperience of the squad.

“But you know, we started so late and we’re dealing with NNL and NLO players, apart from one player who has played in the NPFL before,” Giwa explained.

“It’s like we’re dealing with too many young players and we need time to train for them to blend together properly because we started so late.

“But for us to come here and get three points against a team like Enyimba, honestly, it will go a very long way for us. It’s going to be a turning point for us.”

Maintaining Attacking Approach

Giwa also defended his decision to maintain an attacking approach throughout the match rather than resorting to a low block or a purely defensive strategy.

“If you fail to plan, that means you’ve planned to fail. We started so late. And don’t forget, this is NPFL, so one has to start on time. It’s a big lesson to us,” to gaffer said.

“After the preseason, we had only six days before we played our first match. We know that, game by game, we’ll get better as a team.

“But you know, in the NPFL, it’s not acceptable for you to play the first three games and lose all those three games. It’s bad.

“We had to put our acts together because we have confidence in ourselves that, with time, we’ll get better.”

Turning Point For Inter Lagos

Giwa believes the victory over Enyimba can serve as a turning point for Inter Lagos, but stressed that the team must build on the result rather than treat it as a one-off achievement.

“This is a sign of better days ahead, and we’ve to go back and consolidate on what happened here today so that it doesn’t look like a fluke,” Giwa declared.

“We noticed some mistakes in the game. We’ve to go back to the drawing board and correct them ahead of subsequent games and, of course, there is still lots of room for improvement for us to be better on Wednesday against Kano Pillars and throughout the season in general.

“You cannot defeat a ‘giant of Africa’ and go back home and mess up. We can only go back home and consolidate on what we’ve done here today.”