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CAF Champions League

COACH OGBEIDE SURE LOBI WILL OUST KENYA’S GOR MAHIA

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Though pitched against one of the storied teams from theEastern part of Africa in Gor Mahia of Kenya, veteran Nigerian coach, Solomon Ogbeide is upbeat Lobi Stars can ride their luck in their CAF Champions League Round 1/16th fixtures.

Edged out at the mini-league stage of the Champions league on their continental cup debut in 2000, Ogbeide on his second spell with Lobi Stars told Cafonline that  the Ortom Boys (as they are so nicknamed now) have acquired valuable experiences over the years.

“Of course, we know that Gor Mahia is very big club from Kenya but the business between a big team and small team is the match on the field of play and Lobi Stars is also a big team,” Ogbeide told CAFOnline.com

While the East African side are celebrating their Golden Jubilee this year with a record 17 Kenyan Premier League titles and one African Cup Winners’ Cup under their belt but Ogbeide is not worried that the 37-year-old Lobi Stars sneaked into the continental fray this term when they were declared winners of the inconclusive Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL).

“No matter what anyone would say, we consider ourselves worthy champions of theNPFL because we occupied the first position to be declared winners and we proved this was not a fluke when we won the Nigeria Super Cup by defeatingRangers International,” Ogbeide asserted. 

Speaking further, Ogbeide said Lobi have the pedigree to give Nigeria good representation: “We (Lobi Stars) have represented Nigeria in this same competition before and we are not leaving any stone unturned as we prepare for this match against Gor Mahia. We just need good preparation to scale through after the two legs.”

Below are excerpts of his interview with CAFOnline.com 

Are you comfortably playing the firstleg away to Gor Mahia first?

The draw had already been made and whether they come here first or vice versa is immaterial. It makes no difference to us playing the first leg away to Gor Mahia. We just have to keep our focus. In our last game, we played UMS De Loum at a very short notice away from our base in Makurdi and we still won 2-0 in Enugu. So irrespective of where we play, we want to prepare well and get our job done. 

Aren’t you worried that Nigerian clubs have not won the CAF Champions League since Enyimba in 2004 and do you think Lobi Stars can end this cycle?

Our plan is to give Nigeria good representation this year and we are going to give it our best shot. We are not worried because we have all it take s to do well on the continent. We have the personnel in terms of players, sound administrators and we have the support of government and people of Benue State;but above all, we have God which is our major weapon. 

You sound so confident but do you honestly think Lobi Stars can go all the way in this competition?

I’m not a pessimist and I believe with what is at our disposal in terms of personnel and support, we can give our country good representation. It’s only when you tried by giving your level best that you can be a winner. We are ready to put in more than our best in order to surmount the challenges and we are prepared to face these challenges. 

What is your own coaching philosophy?

My first priority is that football is an entertainment and football must be played according to the rules of the game. The main business is for your team to score goals and you are a winner if you’re able to score more without conceding. As I said earlier that football is about entertainment consequently the fans must have value for their money when they come to the stadium to watch. You must, therefore play some aesthetic football for the fans to have value for their money.

For record purpose, how long have you been in coaching and old are you now?

I have spent some good years on this job as a coach and I have handled quite a number of clubs in Nigeria. I have coached at Bendel Insurance, Warri Wolves,Julius Berger, Sunshine Stars, Akwa United and so forth. This is my second time with Lobi Stars; I was here 10 years ago. I have been on the beat for over two decades now and I’m well trained for it. Apart from being a graduate of physical & health education (human kinetics) from University of Benin, I attended coaching courses at Brazilian Soccer Academy in both Ordinary and Higher Diplomas. I’m also a CAF A Licence holder. Age is just about numbers in as much you are still kicking and ready to do your just fairly well. Age is immaterial because I’m strong enough to do my job. 


Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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CAF Champions League

Enugu Rangers crash out of Champions League

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Nigeria’s sole survivor into the second round of the CAF Champions League, Enugu Rangers have crashed out of the competition. They lost 3-1 to Angola’s Sagrada Esperança  this Sunday in Luanda.

 The aggregate scoreline is 3-2 as Rangers last weekend won their home game 1-0. Sagrada Esperança opened the game with offensive and got their first goal barely six minutes into the game when Alexandre Fernando found the back of the net.

 The hosts doubled their lead in the 33rd minute through Mussa. But four minutes later, Enugu Rangers reduced the tally to 2-1 to carry an away goal advantage into half time.

Jamie Pimpao got the much needed goal for Angola in the 67th minute to seal the hopes of Rangers.

Sagrada Esperança will now go into next month’s draw for the draw of the group stage.

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CAF Champions League: Travelling teams secure victories on the road

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CAF Champions League 2nd Preliminary Round action resumed on Saturday, 14 September following the resumption of the Africa’s premium club competition on Friday.

It was mostly the travelling teams that secured victories away from home on Saturday, who put themselves in fairly comfortable situations ahead of the return leg next week.

Orlando Pirates had a mental obstacle to overcome in Gaborone against Jwaneng Galaxy, having to face the same side that eliminated them in the same phase of the competition last season.

The former champions secured a 2-0 victory in Gaborone to put themselves in a comfortable position ahead of the return leg next weekend.

Five-time champions, TP Mazembe were away to Red Arrows in Zambia where they also put two past their hosts ahead of the return leg in Lubumbashi.

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Mamelodi Sundowns, who played their away match in the comfort of their home stadium against Swaziland’s Mbabane Swallows made use of home ground advantage with a comfortable 4-0 win over their neighbours.

Tanzanian champions, Young Africans secured a hard-fought 1-0 win over CBE SA of Rwanda as Tanzanian giants continue to chase a continental title. 

It was a rather tough outing for Moroccan outfit, AS FAR when they travelled to Sudan to face Al Merrikh. A highly entertaining encounter concluded with a 2-2 draw, ahead of the return leg in Morocco.

Egyptian side, Pyramids FC also played out to a draw when they were held 1-1 by APR FC in Rwanda.

Burkina Faso side, Association Sportive des Douanes out up an impressive showing when they edged Algeria’s CR Belouizdad by 1-0.

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The first leg of the 2nd Preliminary Round concludes on Sunday, with five interesting encounters lined up, including reigning champions Al Ahly kick starting their title defense away from home.

TotalEnergies CAF Champions League Results & Fixtures:

Friday, 13 September

Enugu Rangers 1 – 0 Sagrada Esperanca

Monastir 0 – 1 MC Alger

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Saturday, 14 September 

CBE SA 0 – 1 Young Africans

Red Arrows 0 – 2 TP Mazembe

Al-Merrikh 2 – 2 AS FAR

Jwaneng Galaxy FC 0 – 2 Orlando Pirates FC

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Maniema Union 2 – 1 Petro de Luanda

Djoliba 1 – 0  ASKO

Douanes 1 – 0 CR Belouizdad

Sunday, 15 September 

12h00 GMT | Gor Mahia vs Al Ahly

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15h00 GMT | Samartex vs Raja CA

16h00 GMT | San Pedro vs Al-Hilal

16h00 GMT | Dekedaha vs ES Tunis

19h00 GMT | Stade d’Abidjan vs Milo FC

The return leg fixtures of the 2nd Preliminary stage will be played between 20 – 22 September.

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-CAF

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CAF Champions League

Enugu Rangers in slim CAF Champions League win over Angola’s Sagrada Esperanca

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Enugu Rangers’ patchy form in the CAF Champions League continues as they struggled to beat visiting Angola’s Sagrada Esperance 1-0 in the first leg match played at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo.

 It was in similar fashion that they played against Union Sportive de Zilimadjou of Comoros Islands who they beat 2-1 over two legs in Uyo.

Rangers’ lone goal was scored by Kazeem Ogunleye in the 80th minute.

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