Simba snatched a late 2-1 victory against CS Sfaxien in Dar es Salaam, while Black Bulls Maputo stunned Enyimba with a dominant 3-0 win in Mozambique as the CAF Confederation Cup group stage reached its halfway point on Sunday.

The results leave several groups finely poised, with everything to play for in the remaining fixtures as African clubs continue their quest for continental glory:

Bravos do Maquis 3-2 Constantine

Bravos do Maquis edged CS Constantine 3-2 in a thrilling Group A encounter at Estádio 11 de Novembro. The Angolan side raced to a 2-0 lead by half-time through a Jó Paciência penalty and Francis’ long-range effort. Constantine mounted a spirited comeback as Dadi Mouaki and Chahine Belaouel struck to level the scores. However, substitute Célio netted a dramatic winner in the 94th minute to hand Maquis their second win and move level with Constantine and Simba on six points.

Zamalek 1-0 Al Masry

Zamalek triumphed 1-0 in a tightly contested Egyptian derby against Al Masry at Borg El Arab Stadium. Zizo’s stunning strike from outside the box in the 63rd minute proved the difference. Despite Masry’s late pressure, Zamalek’s defence held firm to seal the win, propelling them to the top of Group D with seven points.

Simba 2-1 CS Sfaxien

Simba edged CS Sfaxien 2-1 in a thrilling Group A encounter at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium. The visitors struck first through Hazem Haj Hassen, but Simba responded with a Kibu Denis header in the 7th minute. The Tanzanian side dominated the second half, and Denis completed his brace in the dying moments to seal the victory. Simba now climb to second place in Group A.

Black Bulls 3-0 Enyimba

Black Bulls Maputo stunned Nigerian giants Enyimba with a dominant 3-0 win in Group D. Rume Akporoh’s first-half header set the tone before second-half strikes from Fidel Sousa and Ayuba Francis secured the result. Enyimba struggled to respond, leaving them bottom of the group.

Lunda Sul 0-1 Stellenbosch

South African club Stellenbosch snatched a narrow 1-0 away win over CD Lunda Sul. Devin Titus’ late header in the 89th minute proved decisive as the South Africans moved into third place in Group B. Lunda Sul missed crucial chances in a tight encounter.

Orapa United 0-0 Jaraaf

Orapa United and Jaraaf played to a goalless draw in Group C. Both sides created opportunities, but poor finishing and resolute goalkeeping saw the points shared. The result keeps both teams struggling in the group standings.

-CAF

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Chances of Nigeria’s Enyimba navigating into the knock-out stage of the CAF Confederation Cup have further diminished as they lost 3-0 on Sunday to the supposedly weakest team of Group D – Mozambique’s Black Bull.

What a rout! They have thus played three group matches without a win – losing two and drawing one at home.  

Enyimba started the game on their back foot as they were a goal down after a quarter of an hour. Nigerian-born Rume Akporoh opened the scoring for the Mozambicans before another Nigerian-born Francis Ayuba Abubakar  put the final nail in Enyimba’s coffin in the 64^th minute, scoring the third goal after Fidel De Sousa’s 57th-minute goal.

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Enyimba guns for first win in Confederation Cup group stage

After two matches with Egyptian sides – Al Masry and Zamalek – Enyimba hopes to get their first win of the CAF Confederation Cup group stage as they visit Mozambique’s Black Bull this Sunday afternoon.

It is the Match Day 3 of the series. Drawn in Group D, Enyimba lost 2-0 to All-Masry in the first match and only rallied back to a 2-2 draw at home against the other Egyptian side, Zamalek in Uyo.

Now languishing in the third position, Enyimba will hope to make amends by picking their first full point of the series.

The encounter with the Black Bulls will be held at the Zimpeto National Stadium. Just as Enyimba are desperate, so also are their Mozambican opponents who lost their first match to Egyptian sides, 2-0 to Zamalek and drew the second one against Al-Masry 1-1.  

Black Bulls of Mozambique

The Mozambicans reported some injuries in their team. But such were considered minor. Ernani, Victor, Fidel and Khadre who missed the opening two matches are reported to have recovered.

This Sunday’s match will be refereed by Ethiopia’s Bamlak Tessema Wayesa.  His assistants will be  Fasika Biru Yehualashet and Mustefa Meki Mohammed. The fourth official is Belay Tadesse Assere.
The referees’ advisor is the Egyptian Elsayed Attalla, while the Angolan José Fernando Macao will be the CAF commissioner.Ali Mwebe, from Uganda, will play the role of general coordinator.
The security officer is Tina Sandra Hoarau, from Seychelles,and the Angolan Joel Alberto Sessa is the Broadcast VenueManager, a figure whose mission is to control and coordinate television broadcasts.

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