Nigerian clubs opened their CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup campaigns with contrasting outcomes, highlighted by El-Kanemi Warriors’ emphatic victory and Shooting Stars’ first continental win in 27 years.
Key takeaways
- Rivers United drew 1-1 with FC San Pedro in Côte d’Ivoire.
- Rangers International surrendered a lead in a 1-1 home draw against AS SOBEMAP.
- Shooting Stars edged CS Sfaxien 1-0 on their return to continental competition.
- El-Kanemi Warriors defeated UDIB 3-0 to record the strongest Nigerian result of the opening legs.
Champions League ties remain finely poised
Rivers United secured a valuable 1-1 result against FC San Pedro at the Laurent Pokou Stadium in Côte d’Ivoire.
The Port Harcourt club will now take that result into the second leg in Uyo, where victory would send them through to the next preliminary round. Despite facing the challenge of beginning the tie on foreign soil, Rivers did enough to keep the contest under control.
Nigeria’s other Champions League representative, Rangers International, could not turn home advantage into a first-leg win. The Enugu club drew 1-1 with Benin Republic’s AS SOBEMAP at the MKO Abiola Sports Arena in Abeokuta.
Rangers moved in front in the 21st minute when Iwundu Chidozie found the net, but the Nigerian champions were unable to maintain their advantage.
AS SOBEMAP equalised after the break, meaning Rangers must now secure a favourable result in the return match in Benin Republic.
The club is staging its home matches in Abeokuta while renovation work continues at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium in Enugu.
Confederation Cup sides make positive starts
Shooting Stars began their return to continental football with a 1-0 triumph over Tunisia’s CS Sfaxien in the first leg of the Confederation Cup’s opening preliminary round.
Lucky Emmanuel supplied the only goal in the 25th minute at the MKO Abiola Sports Arena. The Oluyole Warriors created further chances to extend their lead, but ultimately had to settle for a one-goal margin.
The next assignment takes them to Tunisia, where they will need another disciplined display to overcome the experienced Sfaxien side and progress.
El-Kanemi Warriors delivered the most commanding Nigerian performance of the first-leg programme, beating Guinea-Bissau club União Desportiva Internacional de Bissau 3-0 in Ikenne.
The match was goalless at half-time, but the Maiduguri team seized control soon after the restart.
Nnamdi Mejuobi opened the scoring in the 52nd minute and doubled the advantage from the penalty spot four minutes later.
Dayo Wahab added a third goal in the 88th minute, giving El-Kanemi a substantial lead before the return fixture in Guinea-Bissau.
The result puts the Warriors in a commanding position, although they must still complete the second leg before their place in the next round is confirmed.
