Sunshine Stars forward Luther Iyorhe has made it clear that their 5-1 Nigeria Professional Football League win over Enugu Rangers on Wednesday is a real confidence boost in the race for continental football next season.
Before the victory at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Kennedy Boboye’s men had endured a poor run that saw them lose four games at a bounce and got banished from the Akure Township Stadium for fans upheaval.
The soft-spoken player admitted that at times this season the Akure Gunners have found it tough playing before their home crowd due to their fans’ impatience, but claimed playing in Lagos has helped restore self-confidence in the team.
“It was a well-deserved victory for us because we worked very hard for it and besides, playing away from our home ground did the magic,” Iyorhe told Goal.
“Our last game [against Lobi Stars] in Akure was terrible. The fans were impatient and that mounted so much pressure on us which resulted to our visitors taking the lead before the game was disrupted,” he continued.
“But in Lagos against Enugu Rangers, the fans were understanding and that helped us in playing to the best of our ability which gave us an overwhelming victory.
“In all modesty, Akure fans are great but playing our home matches outside the Akure Township Stadium would do us a lot of good because we would not be under unnecessary pressure.”
The former Taraba FC goal getter is however upbeat about his team’s chances on playing on the continent next season.
“I joined Sunshine Stars with the aspiration of playing in the CAF Champions League next season, but we blew away that chance. Our performance in the second part of the league was chaotic as we slumped from our position as league contenders to where we are now,” he said.
“Defeating Rangers has given us the courage to fight on and should we win our remaining games, we can still get a CAF Confederation Cup ticket to show for our efforts. We will keep hoping for the best while hoping that the teams ahead of us slump,” he concluded.