Enyimba coach Fatai Osho says his focus is now to guide the People’s Elephant to a good outing in the 2020/21 CAF Confederation Cup, after masterminding the elimination of domestic rivals Rivers United to book a spot in the lucrative group stage of the competition.

Two-time African champions Enyimba defeated Stanley Eguma’s side 5-4 on penalties, after Fortune Omoniwari’s 42nd minute strike for the hosts levelled aggregate scoreline at 1-1 at the Adokiye Amiesimaka stadium on Sunday.

Enyimba, who reached the semi-finals of the competition in 2018, will know their group phase opponents on Monday when the draw is conducted at CAF Headquarters in Cairo, Egypt at 13:00GMT (2pm Nigerian Time).

Speaking to www.busybuddiesng.com after Sunday’s clash, the former Remo Stars gaffer reiterated that both teams deserve to be in the group stage of the competition this season, and believes they would have given Nigeria quality representation.

“It was quite a difficult one, everyone can see that,” Osho said of the match against Rivers United. “The Rivers (United) side, I want to repeat again, they have a very strong team – a team that could also represent the country very well had it been they are the ones that actually qualified.

“It’s just unfortunate that we played each other. Both teams could have done a good job representing the country on the continent, and unfortunately, we had to play each other. The fixtures were made and it has to be played. One is out, one is in.

“The only justification we can give to the Rivers (United) team is for us to go to the continent and represent the country very well, because they also have what it takes to actually represent the country. That’s the way we are looking at it. We want to enjoy this day.”

Last season, Fatai Osho led record 8-time winners of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) Enyimba to the quarter-finals of the CAF Confederation Cup, where they lost to Guinean outfit AC Horoya over two legs.