The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Confed Cup

  • Rangers risk Confed Cup exit

    Rangers risk Confed Cup exit

    •Hold Zesco 2-2

    Nigeria champions Enugu Rangers risk elimination from this year’s CAF Confederation Cup after they threw away a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 with visiting Zesco United of Zambia at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium in Enugu yesterday.

    Rangers could even count themselves lucky not to have lost in front of their supporters as the visitors almost won the game with Ntonga shooting into goalkeeper Nana Bonsu’s hands as he only gathered on second attempt.

    Rangers opening goal arrived in the 24th minute from the penalty spot after Godwin Aguda had been felled inside the box.

    Captain Chibuzor Madu dispatched the resulting penalty kick inside the net, with the bewildered goalkeeper Jacob Banda rooted to his spot.

    Perhaps, the clearest scoring opportunity of the half fell to Patrick Kongolo in the 38th minute, when defender Pape Ousmane chest-trapped the ball to his goalkeeper, but the back pass short-landed for Kongolo who dispatched his effort criminally wide off post.

    Osas Okoro doubled Rangers advantage after poking the ball inside the net after Zesco captain and goalkeeper Jacob Banda failed to properly deal with a cross from the right hand channel.

    David Owino halved the deficit for Zesco in the 72nd minute, when he fired home after a goalmouth tussle following a corner kick from the right.

    Zesco then drew level on the 76th minute when Patrick Kongolo tapped home during a build-up from the right.

  • Confed Cup: Nasarawa scrape another slim home win

    Confed Cup: Nasarawa scrape another slim home win

    Nigeria’s Nasarawa United are again walking a tight rope in the CAF Confederation Cup after they could only manage a 1-0 home win over CS Constantine of Algeria in a first round, first leg match in Abuja on Sunday.

    Philip Azango left it late till the 86th minute to grab the match winner for Nasarawa United.

    Tactically disciplined Constantine played with a man short as from the 55th minute, when Hamza Boulemdias was sent off.

    ‘Solid Miners’ Nasarawa also had to overcome a narrow 2-1 win over Generation Foot of Senegal in the preliminary round to reach this stage of the competition.

    The return leg match will be played in Algeria on Friday.

  • Aigbogun happy with Confed Cup impact on Wolves

    Aigbogun happy with Confed Cup impact on Wolves

    Warri Wolves and Enyimba FC it seems are the only teams that recovered from the distraction of the continental games from early on in the season with the sides sitting 3rd and 1st on the NPFL log after 31 round of matches.

    Reflecting on the impact of his club’s CAF Confederation Cup adventure and its effect on their League run, Coach of the Seasiders, Paul Aigbogun insists the backlog of games had no negative effect and neither did it put the players under any form of pressure.

    ”I was not a distraction to the league but of there was a backlog of games to play which we did. In a sense the situation had a grea impact on the team as we were able to make the best of them and its helped us to our current position on the table” the Coach told www.footballlive.ng

  • Confed Cup: Rangers pip Sfaxien

    Ugonna Uzochukwu scored the match winner and then saw red as Enugu Rangers pipped CS Sfaxien 1-0 in a CAF Confederation Cup match on Sunday.

    Defender Uzochukwu grabbed the winner three minutes from full time after Tunisian club Sfaxien held their own inside the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium in Enugu. However, Uzochukwu will see red minutes later after he picked up his second booking of the day and this means he has been ruled out of the all-important return leg match in Tunisia.

    Rangers were without internationals Sunday Mba and Chigozie, who are away with the Super Eagles in Germany, while first-choice goalkeeper Godwin Ayalogu was not fit enough and so Nigeria U20 goalkeeper Emmanuel Daniel started this encounter.

    Sfaxien attacked from the onset and it needed goalkeeper Daniel to scramble into a corner a goal-bound shot by the Tunisians after just eight minutes. Razaq Adegbite replaced injured striker Sanusi Sani after 28 minutes as Rangers fought in search of a go-ahead goal.

    On the hour, Nigeria U20 striker Alhaji Gero had a chance to put the home side in front but he missed a great opening off a corner. But just when it looked like Rangers would be cancelled out by Sfaxien, Uzochukwu produced the winner late on, but he was booked for celebrating by pulling off his shirt.

    He was then sent off moments later for a second booking.

    Rangers starting XI

    Emmanuel Daniel – Chibuzor Madu, Ekene Iwuorie, Nnamdi Anyasodo, Ugonna Uzochukwu, Etim Mathew, Chinedu Udeagha, Seun Taro, Chisom Egbuchulam, Alhaji Gero, Sanusi Sani

    Subs: Godwin Ayalogu, Razaq Adegbite, Solomon Jabason, Uche Oguchi, Cyril Oriaku, Chinedu Justice, Pape Ousmane

  • Confed Cup: Nembe shock won’t affect Heartland

    Heartland have said a shock home loss to new boys Nembe City will not affect them going into Sunday’s Confederation Cup first round tie.

    ‘The Naze Millionaires’ host US Bitam of Gabon in a Confederation Cup first round, first leg clash at the recently refurbished Dan Anyiam Stadium in Owerri.

    The Gabonese team ran up a record 17-1 aggregate against Desportivo de Guadalupe from Sao Tome and Principe in the preliminary round of the competition. They won the first leg away 5-0 before they feasted on their visitors 12-1 in the second leg.

    Last Sunday, Heartland fell 2-1 at home in an opening Nigeria league fixture to newly promoted Nembe City, but officials have maintained this will not impact negatively on the team against US Bitam.

    “Honestly, we are shocked and pained by this defeat and the fact that our fans feel let down. We say to the fans, ‘it was not deliberate’ and we are sorry about it,” said Heartland spokesman Cajetan Nkwopara.

    ”The CAF Confederation Cup game is a big stage. If at all we had been complacent with Nembe City, surely we cannot do the same thing with the Gabonese team. But it is important to stress here that we are going for a big competition and we’re in a crucial week so, we expect all our fans to rally round us. We need support, we need prayers and we need every motivation we can get from everybody that loves this team.”

    Heartland lost 3-2 on aggregate to eventual winners AC Leopard of Congo Brazzaville in the second round of the tournament last year.