Rivers United beat Al Masry of Egypt 2-1 in the first leg playoff of the CAF Champions League at the Enyimba International Stadium in Aba on Sunday.
Malachi Ohawuma opened the scoring in the 26th minute but the goal was short-lived as the visitors restored parity two minutes later through a goal scored by 28 years old Mohamed Antar.
Meanwhile, the Pride of Rivers sustained the pressure on the visitors and the efforts paid off in 34th minute as 20 years old Kayode Rafiu Ishaq got the better of the visitors’ goalkeeper to get his team on the driver’s seat once again.
Both sides pushed for more goals in the first half to no avail as the half ended with the Pride of Rivers leading Al Masry 2-1. The result also decided the match after a barren second half.
With the result, there is no doubt that the Nigerian representatives must hold their own in Egypt next week if they hope to scale past Al Masry and berth at the group stage of the second tie CAF Confederation Cup.
The Pride of Rivers must avoid defeat as a draw will see them through to the group stage. On the other hand, should Al Masry beat the Nigerians 1-0, they would all but end the Nigerians’ match in the competition.
The other Nigerian side in the CAF Confederations Cup, Enyimba International, who would have confronted Al-Ittihad of Libya, were not in action as the Confederation of African Football (CAF) postponed their match in Tunisia after Enyimba were denied access into the North African country over Covid-19 issues.
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