CAF Confederation Cup
‘Yanga’-making YANGA FC of Tanzania say they are not done yet with Rivers United
Tanzania’s YANGA FC have realistically put a foot into the semi-finals of the CAF Confederation Cup after their surprised 2-0 away defeat of Rivers United in Uyo on Sunday.
It was YANGA’s first ever win on Nigerian soil since their first visit against Enugu Rangers in 1975.
Against Rivers United who had earlier beaten them over two legs in 2021 edition of the more prestigious Champions League, YANGA scored a second half brace through Fiston Mayele to earn a massive victory.
They will now have all the advantages heading into weekend’s home tie in Dar es Salaam, where they will be staring at a first ever continental semi-final appearance.
Their coach, Nasreddine Nabi remarked that the team would not be carried away by the away victory.
“I am delighted to win because it is not easy to come to Nigeria and win. We played well and took our chances, but the game is far from over.
“We still have the second leg and we need to do even better to ensure we qualify.”
Mayele broke the deadlock in the 73rd minute when he was picked out by a brilliant through ball from skipper Bakari Mwamnyeto.
The Congolese import ran to the pass before hitting it past the keeper first time.
The same pair was to work together for the second goal scored nine minutes from time, this time Mwamnyeto passing back a recycled ball from a set-piece to Mayele who made no mistake with the second goal.
The Tanzanian giants were rewarded for being the most adventurous forward and they had chances to score even from the first half.
The best of the opening 45 saw Mayele square through a ball to Stephane Aziz Ki, but the latter’s shot from close range was blocked by the keeper.
Rivers had some chances too and their best fell on skipper Nwagua Nakeberi who was put through on goal by Gideon Duru, but he could not guide the ball into the net with the keeper beaten at the backpost.
The Nigerians have their work cut out heading to Dar and they need to win at least 2-0 to stretch the game to penalties, or win by a margin of more than three goals.
CAF Confederation Cup
CAF adjudges Morocco’s Youssef Mehri’s goal as the fastest in football history
Moroccan club, Renaissance de Berkane, beat their Algerian counterparts, CS Constantine, 4-0 in the first leg of the CAF Confederation Cup semi-finals at the weekend.
The game got off to a dream start for the Moroccan club as it took Youssef Mehri less than a minute to open the scoring in the big win against the Algerians.
Officially, the goal is recorded to have been scored after 13 seconds.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), CAF remarks: “Youssef Mehri goes straight into the history books. The RS Berkane striker scores the fastest goal ever scored in the CAF Cup.”
A deeper search by Sports Village Square indicates that a Nigerian player, Paul Onuachu, had previously scored a faster goal, but not in a CAF Cup duel.
The basketball player-like footballer scored his first international goal in a 1-0 defeat of Egypt on 26 March 2019.
The goal inflicted Nigeria’s first defeat on Egypt in 29 years. But more significant was the timing of the goal. Onuachu, within eight seconds of kick-off, undoubtedly entered the record books as the second fastest goal in international football records after that of Germany’s Lukas Podolsk, who scored after six seconds in a friendly against Ecuador in 2013.
Fans had hardly settled down at the Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba for the Nigeria versus Egypt match when Onuachu released a thunderous shot that turned out to be the match’s decider.
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The Renaissance Sportive de Berkane delegation will travel to Algeria this Friday to face CS Constantine in the CAF Cup. Tension may be building up for the potentially explosive confrontation that could have a build-up from last year’s fixtures of the Moroccan club and another Algerian outfit, USM Algiers, in the CAF Confederation Cup.
A Moroccan news outlet, Sport.le360, reports that a Tunisian airline will operate the direct flight between Oujda-Angad Airport, which is located about 12 kilometres north of Oujda and about 600 kilometres northeast of Casablanca, near the Algerian border and Constantine Mohamed Boudiaf International Airport.
Last year, political differences between Morocco and Algeria scuttled similar semi-final clashes between clubs of both countries.
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The Court of Arbitration for Sport on Wednesday ruled in favour of the Algerian football federation in a row over a map of Morocco on shirts worn by Renaissance Berkane in the 2024 CAF Confederation Cup.
Algerian club USM Alger were kicked out of last year’s competition after both legs of their semi-final against Berkane were cancelled because of a diplomatic dispute.
Neither match took place as USMA and the Algerian authorities objected to a map of Morocco on the Berkane shirts which included Western Sahara.
Algeria cut diplomatic ties with North African neighbours Morocco in 2021, partly over the Western Sahara issue.
The former Spanish colony is largely controlled by Morocco but claimed by the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, which seeks the territory’s independence.
The Confederation of African Football awarded Berkane a 3-0 victory for both legs of the semi-final.
CAF at the time responded to an appeal by the Algerian FA by ruling in favour of Berkane, saying the club had been wearing the same jerseys since the start of the tournament.
But the Algerian FA took the case to sport’s highest court in Switzerland, which determined that the shirts in question were “contrary to CAF regulations, as they display a territorial map that is of a political nature.”
“The image of a map of Morocco including Western Sahara on the shirts of RS Berkane depicts a message, a demonstration or propaganda of a political nature as it represents the assertion of a territorial dispute that is contested and still unresolved as of today,” CAS said in a statement.
“By the laws of the game of the International Football Association Board, it is prohibited to convey any content of a political nature on all equipment, including shirts.”
CAS added that the initial decision by CAF to “maintain the approval of the shirts is annulled”, but the court said that it would have no effect on the results of the tournament.
Egypt’s Zamalek beat Berkane on away goals in the final.
-AFP
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