SAN FRANCISCO, December 07, (THEWILL) – Nigerian clubs were eliminated in Saturday’s action in both the CAF Champions League (CAFCL) and CAF Confederation Cup (CAFCC) competitions. Plateau United and Kano Pillars took part in the 14 CAF-organised matches played across the continent to unproductive ends for the pair.
Although, a strong showing by Plateau United only produced a goalless draw away to Tanzania football powerhouse Simba, the damage was done in the first leg as they needed a win to overturn a 1-0 home loss in the preliminary round clash in the Champions League.
While Kano Pillars had the benefit of home advantage on their side, they too could only iron out a stalemate in their attempt to overturn a 3-1 deficit against Senegal’s ASC Diaraf, exiting the Confederation Cup with barely a whimper.
In other continental fixtures, Kenya’s Gor Mahia claimed a thrilling 3-1 home victory over Rwanda’s APR FC with goals from Samuel Onyango, Sydney Ochieng and Nicholas Kipkirui to take it to 4-3 on aggregate in the CAFCL, while Zambia’s NAPSA Stars flogged Ngazi Sport of Comoros 4-1 to complete a remarkable 9-2 overall triumph in the CAFCC.
Other teams who progressed in the Champions League included CS Sfaxien from Tunisia, AS Bouengiudi from Gabon, FC Platinum from Zimbabwe, Nkana FC from Zambia, Nigerien club AS SONIDEP, Angolan side Petro de Luanda, Malian club Stade Malien (after Ghanaian side Ashanti de Siguiri was deemed to have forfeited the match) and South African giants Kaizer Chiefs, who once again were underwhelming in their goalless match at home to rookies Bamenda of Cameroon, but advanced 1-0 overall.
Sudan’s Al Amal Atbara advanced in impressive comfort in the Confederation Cup, but not so for South Africa’s Bloemfontein Celtic, who needed penalty shootouts to overcome DR Congo’s AS Maniema Union after a 0-2 home defeat with the game tied at a 2-2 aggregate.
Advancing in this second tier competition with Atbara and Celtic was Niger’s Union Sportive Gendarmerie Nationale (USGN), while Ghana’s Ashanti Gold were undone by a brace from Olivier Boissy as they lost 2-1 (both on the night and on aggregate) to Burkina Faso side Salitas.
The preliminary rounds for both the Champions League and Confederation Cup will wrap up on Sunday, December 6. The aggregate winners advance into the first round of their respective competitions, with the first round set to hold its first leg matches on December 22-23 and the reverse fixtures between January 5-6.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
