CAF: Rivers United win, Enyimba humiliated

It was contrasting fortunes for the two remaining NPFL sides in CAF competitions on Wednesday with Rivers United enjoying a surprise win while Enyimba were humiliated, both away from home.

In the Total CAF Confederation Cup, Stanley Eguma-led Rivers United pulled off a shocking 0-2 win over South African side Bloemfontein Celtic at the Dr Petrus Molemela Stadium in Bloemfontein to take a healthy first leg lead back home to Nigeria.

After a goalless first half, Rivers United went in front in the game played under closed doors in the 70th minute courtesy of Confederation Cup expert Godwin Aguda, his 3rd goal in as many matches in this season’s competition.

The goal was none less than the Nigerians deserved after successfully staving off their opponents for over an hour of football. With ten minutes left on the clock, striker Fortune Omoniwari picked up the ball inside the opposition half and danced his way past three players in Green before calmly lobbing the ball over the goalkeeper.

While Rivers United flowed in endless joy in South Africa, Enyimba were trodden upon in the Savannah regions of Africa by Sudanese side Al Merrikh who smashed the former African Champions 3-0 at the Al Hilal Stadium in Omdurman.

The People’s Elephant made a worst possible start when they went behind in the 7th minute after forward Saifeldin Malik finished with aplombed from inside the penalty box, the first of his treble.

The goal came against the run of play and although Enyimba continued to dominate in the first half, they were punished once again before half time when Malik latched onto and finished a ball over the top.

While it seemed as though the game would end in a 2-0 scoreline, the visitors probed once again and Malik headed home a right wing cross from close range to leave Enyimba with a mountain to climb in the second leg.

The second leg games will hold in a fortnight in the Nigerian cities of Port Harcourt and Aba respectively for Rivers United and Enyimba’s games.