CAF Confederation Cup
HOW RANGERS’ FOES WILL EMERGE AT CAF CONFEDERATION CUP
BY APESIN ADEMOLA.
Rangers will know their opponents in the group stage of this season’s CAF Confederation Cup when the draw is conducted in Cairo this Monday from 1pm (West African time).
The Flying Antelopes, who won the Nigerian Federation Cup last year to qualify for this competition, are placed in the least section (Pot 4) along with AS Otôho (Congo Republic), Ashante Kotoko SC (Ghana) and Hassania Agadir (Morocco).
They are guaranteed to avoid those three teams in the group stage.
Rangers’ three group stage opponents can come from either defending champions Étoile du Sahel (Tunisia), Zamalek (Egypt), ZESCO United (Zambia) or Raja Casablanca (Morocco), all top seeds in the draw.
One other team will
also come from Pot 2 which features Al-Hilal (Sudan), CS Sfaxien
(Tunisia), RS Berkane (Morocco) and Gor Mahia (Kenya).
In Pot 3, which will also produce a team for Rangers’ group, are Nkana (Zambia), NA Hussein Dey (Algeria), Petro de Luanda (Angola) and Ranger (Burkina Faso).
Raja Casablanca, the defending champions, entered the competition this time in the first round where they dispatched Gabon’s Cercle Mbéri Sportif 5-1 aggregate before eliminating African Stars of Namibia 2-1 aggregate in the play-off round. Raja also won the title in 2003.
On their way to lifting the trophy last month, Raja stopped Nigeria’s representatives Enyimba in the last four by winning both in Aba and in Casablanca 3-1 overall.
Étoile du Sahel, the team with the highest ranking among the group stage qualifiers, stopped the march of Plateau United, the then Nigerian champions, in the first round of the 2017/18 CAF Champions League 4-3 aggregate.
But Enyimba had eliminated Étoile du Sahel in the second round of the 2015/16 CAF Champions League. Both teams ended the two legs 3-3 but the People’s Elephant triumphed 4-3 penalties only to get kicked out in the group stage.
That CAF Champions League elimination of Enyimba was the most recent encounter between Zamalek, another of team in Pot 1, and any Nigerian team. The Egyptian side won their two fixtures against Enyimba 1-0 either way to leave Enyimba at the foot of the group’s table.
Gor Mahia, one of the teams in Pot 2, fell to Nigerian champions Lobi Stars on away goal difference in the first round of this season’s CAF Champions League, which led to their relegation to the Confederation Cup. Having survived the play-off round, the draw may pitch the Kenya side against yet another Nigerian team – Rangers.
For Sudan’s Al-Hilal, who are in Pot 2, they stopped Akwa United on away goal rule in the playoff round of the 2017/18 CAF Confederation Cup.
In the 2012/13 CAF Confederation Cup, Rangers were to face CS Sfaxien of Tunisia in the playoff round. The Nigerian team won the first leg at home 1-0 but CAF ruled that they fielded an ineligible player in the second leg and therefore got disqualified.
The group stage will run from February 3 to March 17 with six matches played in each of the four groups.
The top two teams in each of group will play the quarterfinals in April.
The two-legged finals will hold in May.
CAF Confederation Cup
‘Nzogbu Nzogbu’ Enyimba enyi as Enyimba limp into Confederation Cup Group stage!
It was not easy, but the end justified the means. Enyimba had to go through the lottery of penalty shoot-out to get into the group stage of the CAF Confederation Cup on Sunday in Uyo after playing a barren draw with visiting Etoile Filante of Burkina Faso.
The first leg also ended goalless leading to penalty shoot-out as tie breaker. Enyimba won 3-2 on penalties.
Enyimba FC head coach Yemi Olarenwaju has set his sights on securing a crucial victory in Sunday’s second leg of the CAF Confederation Cup tie against Étoile Filante de Ouagadougou.
His confidence is built on the goalless draw in the first leg in Bamako.
“The job is far from over, and we can’t afford to celebrate yet. The return leg in Uyo will be crucial,” Olarenwaju was quoted by the club’s website as saying.
“We’ll go back to the drawing board, work harder, and prepare for the challenge ahead.”
Olarenwaju praised his team’s tactical edge and discipline, which nullified the hosts’ attacking threats. “We had a clear game plan, and the players executed it perfectly. Our tactical discipline prevented Étoile Filante de Ouagadougou from creating any meaningful scoring opportunities.”
The Enyimba FC boss acknowledged the tough opposition but remains confident in his team’s ability to secure a win at home.
“Étoile Filante de Ouagadougou is a formidable opponent, but we have the quality and determination to get the job done in Uyo.”
As we look forward to the return leg, we urge all Enyimba FC fans to come out in their numbers and support the team at the Uyo Stadium. Let’s make our home advantage count and cheer the People’s Elephant to victory!
Enyimba’s midfielder, Daniel Daga, has pledged to lead club to victory against Etoile Filante in the return leg of the CAF Confederation Cup second round on Sunday.
The People’s Elephant are looking to build on their impressive performance in the first leg, which ended in a goalless draw in Bamako, Mali. Despite creating several scoring opportunities, Enyimba were unable to find the back of the net.
However, Daga remains optimistic about their chances in the return leg having missed the first leg of the encounter due to a slight knock
“Our resolve is to win and advance to the group stages,” he stated confidently. “We understand that they are a difficult opponent, but we have just one task, which is to win, and that is exactly what we are going to do.”
A win for Enyimba FC would guarantee their spot in the group stages, a feat that would make them the only Nigerian team in the competition’s group phase.
“We know the importance of this match, and we’re ready to give it our all,” Daga added. “We want to make Nigeria proud and show that we’re a force to be reckoned with in African football.”
Head coach, Yemi Olarenwaju, has been fine-tuning his tactics, and the team is eager to execute their game plan.
“The first leg result gives us an advantage, but we won’t take anything for granted,” Olarenwaju said. “We’ll push for victory and secure our spot in the group stages.”
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