CAF Confederation Cup
Confederation Cup Final: Nigeria’s Olisa Ndah on parade as Orlando Pirates confront RS Berkane in Uyo
Nigeria international defender Olisa Ndah will be on parade when Orlando Pirates of South Africa take on RS Berkane of Morocco in the final of this year’s CAF Confederation Cup at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo on Friday.
Ndah played for the Super Eagles’ squad at the Africa Cup of Nations finals in Cameroon earlier in the year and is on the books of the popular South African club, nicknamed Bucaneers. Pirates won the old-style Africa Champion Clubs’ Cup in 1995.
Ndah, who also played for the Nigeria U23 squad at the U23 AFCON in Egypt in 2019, won the Nigeria league title with Uyo darlings, Akwa United FC before moving to the Rainbow Nation.
To reach the final of Africa’s second most important club competition, Pirates defeated Al Ahli FC of Libya 2-0 in Johannesburg in the first leg of their semi final, before losing by a lone goal in Libya on Sunday.
Berkane were 1-0 losers to TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo but turned things around by winning the return leg 4-1 in Morocco, also on Sunday.
The Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo – venue of several FIFA World Cup and AFCON qualifiers involving the Super Eagles, as well as continental matches involving Akwa United FC – will on Friday play host to the first continental Cup Final in Nigeria in 18 years.
The last time an Africa Clubs’ Cup Final was held in Nigeria was on 12th December 2004, when Enyimba FC defeated Etoile Sportive du Sahel of Tunisia on penalties at the National Stadium, Abuja to claim a second successive title.
Zamalek commenced their CAF Confederation Cup journey with a 1-0 win over Kenya’s Police in the initial leg of the second preliminary round held in Nairobi this Saturday.
Veteran winger Abdallah El-Saied secured the win for the Whites with a precise strike from outside the box just a minute before halftime.
The Cairo giants, winners of the 2023-2024 CAF Confederation Cup title, started the match with relentless pressure on the hosts to clinch victory in the first leg and alleviate pressure before the upcoming return fixture in Cairo next Friday.
“The most important thing for us was to win and achieve our target,” Zamalek coach Gomes said after the game.
Hosts Police FC of Kenya could not breach Zamalek’s resolute defense in search of an equalizer.
Despite notable summer acquisitions, Zamalek’s coach Jose Gomes opted for a standard lineup, integrating young talents in lieu of seasoned players.
“We are now stronger than the previous season, thanks to spending more time with the team and preparing to play in the tournaments that we will participate in,” the Portuguese coach added.
Conversely, Kenya’s Police FC squandered a clear scoring opportunity against Zamalek, missing a crucial chance fifteen minutes before the final whistle, dashing hopes of leveling the score.
Kenya’s Police FC earned their place in this round following a hard-fought 1-0 aggregate victory over Ethiopia Coffee SC.
-Ahram
Nigeria’s Enyimba played a thrilling 0-0 draw with Burkina Faso’s Etoile Filante in the first leg of the CAF Confederation Cup second round tie in Bamako on Friday.
There have been three previous confrontation with Burkina Faso teams and this Friday encounter was the second time that Enyimba had had to face Etoile Filante.
According to facts supplied by Opta Nigeria, Etoile Filante were Enyimba’s first ever opponent on the continent 22 years ago in March 2002. Ever since, Enyimba have played 157 times on the continent; the highest by any Nigerian club.
Enyimba carry their advantage to the return leg to be played on 22 September.
Nigeria’s sole survivors in the CAF Confederation Cup,Enyimba will face Burkina Faso sides, Etoile de Filante in the second round of the competition.
Enyimba drew bye in the preliminary round while the Burkina Faso team reached the second round after eliminating Hafia of Guinea.
Enyimba, second runners-up in the Nigerian League will be attempting to win the Confederation Cup for the first time for Nigeria as they did in the Champions League 21 years ago.
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