CAF Champions League
Remo Stars, Enyimba strive for a rare Nigeria 100% presence at CAF Inter club second round
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
Eyes are on Nigeria’s duo of Enyimba and Remo Stars as both strive to turn around their first leg away slim losses in the opening round of the CAF Champions League this Sunday.
Should both scale through into the next round, it will be the first time in many seasons that Nigeria will have a full attendance of its quartet teams advancing into the penultimate round to the group stages of both the Champions League and Confederation Cup League.
Both Bendel Insurance and Rivers United are already in the next round of Confederation Cup.
In the more challenging Champions League, Remo Stars at home will face Ghana’s Medeama SC in the return leg of Round One after losing 1-0 last Sunday in Cape Coast.
They will need a two goal margin to advance. Alternatively, should they win by one unreplied goal, they have the lottery of penalty shoot-out to contend with.
But the club is set to avert any possible heartache. Head technical, Tiago Conde noted that only the first half of the fixture had been played and that the second half is what will unfold in Ikenne this Sunday.
The Portuguese is optimistic of Remo Stars scaling into the next round to face Guinea’s Horoya.
Joining him in the optimism is Remo Stars captain, Nduka Junior who pointed at last Sunday’s second half performance of Remo Stars as an indication of what fans should expect this Sunday.
In Aba, the odds greatly weigh in favour Enyimba whose three away goals become very valuable. A 1-0 win sees them through into the next round as they hope to dispatch Libya’s Al Ahli Benghazi.
Coach Finidi George has maintained a positive outlook ahead of the match which kicks off at the Enyimba Stadium at 3pm Nigerian time.
“We are sad that we lost the first leg game after a great performance from the boys. It could have easily ended in a draw but for that late goal we conceded.
“I must commend the players for putting up a great fight against a very formidable home team. The crowd was also intimidating but our players did not let that affect them.
“Of course, there are areas that we must improve upon, but looking at the game generally, I see more positives than negatives.
Enyimba captain, Olorunleke Ojo has called on fans of the club to come in large numbers to support the club against Al Ahli Benghazi on Sunday, at the Enyimba Stadium.
Ojo said the team needs the support of fans to spur them to victory against the Libyans, in a game the People’s Elephants must win.
“All we need is support, togetherness and unity. We are not giving up. We are going to win, that is for sure. We are going to qualify. I believe in everyone of us.”
The Super Eagles goalkeeper noted that the team would be in top shape, physically and mentally in order to achieve their aim of making it to the next round of the CAF Champions League.
“Before the next game, we would have corrected all the mistakes and would have rested well. We are going to come out good in the second leg on Sunday.”
Enyimba returns to Aba, where they have won two games on the continent under Finidi George and Ojo is confident that the fans in Aba will replicate the support the Libyan side got in Benghazi.
“Our fans will do the same. If we can get that support, nothing will stop us. Individually we are going to sit up. All we need is support.”
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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
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.
-CAF
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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