- Club Africain Stunned By Ethiopia’s Bahir Dar
NIGERIA’S Rivers United yesterday secured an important goalless draw against Burkina Faso’s Etoile Filante in the first leg of their second qualifying round clash in the CAF Confederation Cup.
The encounter was played at the Stade de Yamassoukro, Cote d’Ivoire. Stanley Eguma’s side put up a solid display in the keenly contested encounter.
Meanwhile, there were some big upsets in the first leg of the second-round qualifiers. Tunisian giants Club Africain were beaten 2-0 away by Ethiopian minnows Bahir Dar Kenema, putting them on the brink of elimination.
They will need to win the second leg in Tunisia by three clear goals to progress directly without any complications after the setback.
In Brazzaville, Diables Noirs of Congo earned an impressive 1-2 victory away to Zambian club Muza.
The Zambians face a tough task in the return leg on 1 October if they are to reach the play-off round.
Tanzania’s Singida United hold a slender advantage over Ugandan club Future FC after Elvis Rupia’s goal earned them a 1-0 home win.
Meanwhile, Sudan’s Al Merrikh and Angola’s Academica Lobito played out a goalless draw in Omdurman.
The biggest winners on Sunday were Libyan club Abu Salem who defeated Kampala Capital City of Uganda 3-1 thanks to a ruthless attacking display.
In another development, South Africa’s Sekhukhune United cruised to a 3-1 home win over DR Congo’s FC Lupopo in the CAF Confederation Cup second qualifying round first leg on Saturday.
Nigerian striker Chibuike Ohizu opened the scoring for the hosts after just 12 minutes at the Peter Mokaba Stadium, calmly slotting past the Lupopo keeper in a one-on-one.
The Congolese team responded quickly as teenager Mokonzi Katumbwe equalised three minutes later. But Sekhukhune retook the lead on the stroke of halftime through Jamie Webber’s composed finish.
Fellow Congolese player Trésor Tshibwabwa then sealed the win for the South Africans with a well-taken third goal after the break.
In the same vein, Nigeria’s Bendel Insurance were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Moroccan club RS Berkane.
It was a back-and-forth encounter with both teams trading blows. Imade Osarenkhoe put the hosts ahead on 28 minutes but Oussama Lamlioui pegged them back with an equaliser just before the break.
Paul Obata thought he had scored a late winner for Bendel Insurance but a stooping header from Mohamed El Morabit deep into added time earned Berkane a potentially crucial away goal.
In Saturday’s other game, Botswana’s Gaborone United and South Africa’s Supersport United played out a 1-1 draw.
The Azam Sport Complex was filled with astonishment as Djibouti’s Arta Solar stunned Egyptian giants, Zamalek with a 2-0 first-leg win in the second preliminary round of the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup on Saturday afternoon.
In what was an unexpected result, Juan Carlos Osorio’s men failed to trouble the Djibouti side who were only playing their third game of the tournament.
The highly spirited Arta Solar made their intentions clear as early as the 5th minute when the young defensive midfielder, Warsama Hassan’s shot struck the crossbar as the first warning sign of what was to come.
Minutes after, Gabriel Dadzie took advantage of a lapse of concentration in the Zamalek defence by pouncing on a ball to fire it home with a well-struck effort to officially open the scoring.
The Egyptians tried getting back into the game but were met by a resolute Arta Solar defence who would not let anything go past them.
While searching for the leveller, the Egyptians exposed themselves at the back and were punished by Doualeh Elabeh who made it 2-0 to stun the 2019 champions ahead of the return leg in Cairo on 29 September.
In the other match, Club Ferrovairio Maputo beat Sagrada Esperança by the slimmest of margins with a 1-0 victory at home, courtesy of an 88th-minute header by Joao Pedro Mussica.
The CAF Confederation Cup first leg of the second preliminary round kicked off on Friday evening with some high-octane African club football action.
Ghana’s Dream FC came from behind to overcome Kallon FC of Sierra Leone 2-1 at home, while SOAR were edged 2-1 at home by Ivorian side, Afad Djekanou.
It took just eleven minutes for the visitors to find the opener, to stun the highly vocal fans who packed the Accra Sports Stadium in Ghana to set up what would be a highly entertaining encounter.
The goal was a wake-up call for the hosts who launched more attacks and found the leveller just before the break thanks to Daniel Karim’s right-footed strike.
Returning from the break, John Antwi found the lead in the 55th minute to put his side ahead in what would be the final goal of the match.
In the other fixture, the Ivorian side, Afad Djekanou secured a crucial 2-1 away win over Academie Super Olympique d’une Afrique Renaissante (SOAR).
After a highly tactical first half, Michael Amani opened the scoring for the Ivorians just minutes into the second stanza. A goal which was followed by Tiemoko Coulibaly’s strike in the 58th minute before Mohamed Camara pulled one back for the hosts.
The Al Hilal Benghazi and Rayon Sports fixture which was scheduled to take place on Friday was postponed by CAF due to the unfortunate flooding in Libya.
The second leg matches take place in two weeks to determine which clubs book their places in the group stage of the Confederation Cup.
The winners of the second qualifying round ties will advance to the play-off round as the Confederation Cup group stage inches closer.
Eighteen-Eleven Media