CAF Champions League

LOBI STARS, MAMELODI SUNDOWNS RENEW NIGERIA-SOUTH AFRICA FOOTBALL RIVALRY

Published

6 years ago

January 11, 2019

Keen rivalry between Nigerian and South African teams would yet come to the fore on Friday at the Nnamdi Azikwe Stadium in Enugu where Lobi Stars of Makurdi entertain Mamelodi Sundowns in the Round of 1/16th Total CAF Champions’ League Match Day 1 Group A tie.

Incidentally, Mamelodi Sundowns have won all but one of their four previous CAF Champions League confrontations against Nigerian sides including victories over two legs recorded against Enyimba en route to being crowned the continental champions in 2016.

Earlier in 2001, Sundowns lost 2-0 away to Julius Berger in Lagos but rallied to a 1-0 home win in Johannesburg as such, Lobi Stars’ defender Solomon Kwambe admitted the self-styled Brazilians of South Africa can’t be handled with kid’s gloves.

“Of course, we know so much about Mamelodi Sundowns and they are a team that we can’t take for granted because of their reputation,” the 25-year-old Kwambe told CAFOnline.com

“ Just on Saturday, we saw their game when they beat Kaizer Chiefs 2-1 in their domestic league match and that means we must prepare very well playing against them; especially since this is our first game in the group stage.

“It is important for us to win this particular encounter against Mamelodi Sundowns to boost our confidence because we have two other strong teams in our group; a win will be a good start for us and we can build upon it for our other matches.”

Kwambe, a member of the Super Eagles squad to the 2014 African Nations Championship (CHAN) hosted by South Africa informed he would be sharing tips on how to deal with the visitors with his teammates.

“We know so much about South African teams and I was lucky to have played against the Bafana Bafana at the 2013 Nelson Mandela Challenge where we beat them 2-0 and also in 2014 when we beat them 3-1 in the CHAN Tournament,” explains Kwambe. “ So, I have an idea about South African teams; I know Mamelodi Sundowns’ style of play may not be too different from any South African team and we shall be ready for them on Friday in Enugu.

“Playing in Enugu has been a blessing to Lobi Stars because we have won all our home matches there and I’m expecting the fans to come and cheer us to victory against Mamelodi Sundowns on Friday.”

Meanwhile, former Nigeria international and Lobi Stars’ Team Manager, Barnabas Imenger said the West African side have so far enjoyed support from fans and government officials which would boost their aspiration of going beyond the group stage of the CAF Champions League.

“Of course, we at Lobi Stars go into every game with the objective to win either we are at home or away,” Imenger who played in the 1990s for the Super Eagles told CAFOnline.com

“The match on Friday against Mamelodi Sundowns would not be different; we respect as a former African champions but our priority is to take the three points.

In a related development ahead of the trip to Nigeria, Mamelodi Sundowns’ trainer Pitso Mosimane has hinted about the club’s game plan to ensure qualification from the dreaded Group A that also housed two other former African Champions including ASEC Mimosas of Cote d’Ivoire and Wydad Casablanca of Morocco.

“The most important thing in the Champions League is winning at home,” Mosimane reportedly said on the club’s website. “You must also make sure that in the three games away; you at least get two draws. If you do that, you’re guaranteed qualification in the knockout stage.

“The best thing you can do is winning at home. We have to win at home. With how our games are structured, we’re going to play Wydad in our last match of the group. You don’t want to get to that match needing to get a result.

“You have to do what you need to do as early as possible. You’ve got to have a good start and hit the ground running with your home games,” he explained.

CAF Champions League

CAF Champions League: Travelling teams secure victories on the road

Published

4 days ago

September 15, 2024

Kunle Solaja

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

CAF Champions League

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

Published

6 days ago

September 13, 2024

Kunle Solaja

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 80^th minute.

CAF Champions League

VIDEO: Controversial penalty kick remains a talking point in Remo Stars’ elimination

Published

3 weeks ago

August 26, 2024

Kunle Solaja

Benin Republic’s Adissa Abdul Raphiou Ligali awarded a 78th minute penalty kick that sealed Remo Stars hopes.

But for the questionable penalty kick awarded for AS FAR of Morocco in the 78^th minute of the tension-soaked CAF Champions League duel with Remo Stars on Sunday in Rabat, the complexion of the final result as well as the aggregate scorelines may have been different.

Match scoreline stood at 1-1 before the referee, Adissa Abdul Raphiou Ligali of Benin Republic, who was midway to the centre circle suddenly blew his whistle and awarded a penalty kick to the hosts.

Before then, all body contacts had been ruled against Remo Stars. Even, the Moroccans looked amused when the referee, who was off the scene suddenly ran into the penalty area and awarded a penalty kick for an incident, even if it were an infraction, happened outside the penalty box.

The award of the penalty kick and the conversion by El Amine Zouhzouh, literaly sealed Remo Stars thin hope of advancing.

The Nigerian side left it too late as they only came out to attack after their hopes had been sealed.

In starting the crucial match, their lead scorer, Sikiru Alimi and assist master, Sodiq Ismail were brought in only after the damage had been done. It was after the first goal in the 51^st minute that Alimi was brought in in the 54^th minute.