Nigeria’s four representatives in the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup recorded mixed results in the first legs of their respective preliminary-round ties at the weekend. Rivers United and Rangers International were held to draws in the CAF Champions League, while Shooting Stars and El-Kanemi Warriors secured victories in the Confederation Cup.
Rivers United secured the most notable away result after holding Côte d’Ivoire’s FC San Pedro to a 1-1 draw in Abidjan on Saturday. The Pride of Rivers fell behind in the 55th minute when Dosso L put the hosts ahead, but substitute Iyowuna Douglas restored parity 14 minutes later.
Douglas, who had only been introduced three minutes earlier, finished from inside the box after Alex Oyowah provided the assist following a well-worked team move. The result leaves Rivers United with an opportunity to complete the job in the second leg, which will be played in Uyo on 13 September. Rangers, meanwhile, were also held to a 1-1 draw by Benin Republic’s AS Sobemap in Abeokuta on Sunday.
The Nigerian champions took the lead through Chidozie in the 32nd minute but were unable to hold on to the advantage as Sobemap fought back to secure a share of the spoils. Rangers will now travel to Benin for the return leg, knowing that a victory or a draw with a goal would put them in a strong position to advance to the second preliminary round.
In the CAF Confederation Cup, Shooting Stars claimed a narrow but important 1-0 home victory over Tunisian side CS Sfaxien at the MKO Abiola Sports Arena in Abeokuta. Lucky Emmanuel scored the only goal of the encounter in the 25th minute, giving the Ibadan-based club an advantage going into the second leg.