Enyimba have booked their place in the group stage of the 2020-21 Caf Confederation Cup after edging fellow Nigerian club Rivers United, as the playoff round continued this weekend.
The People’s Elephant were beaten 1-0 in Port Harcourt on Sunday (Malachi Ohawuma netted for Rivers) to leave the tie locked at 1-1, but they were able to emerge 5-4 winners on penalties, with John Noble netting the decisive kick.
Morocco’s Raja Casablanca and Libya’s Al Ahly Benghazi also won on penalties against Tunisian side US Monastir and DR Congo’s Motema Pembe respectively.
There were no such worries for South African heavyweights Orlando Pirates, who defeated Botswana’s Jwaneng Galaxy 1-0 (4-0 on aggregate) thanks to a strike from Linda Mntambo, while JS Kabylie, Napsa Stars and Coton Sport also secured progression in their afternoon clashes.
The evening games opened with Senegalese powerhouse ASC Diaraf defeating Zimbabwe’s FC Platinum 1-0 (2-0 on aggregate) thanks to a strike from El Hadji Kane, while Pyramids of Egypt – runners-up in last season’s Confed Cup – trumped RC Abidjan of Ivory Coast 2-0 (4-0 on aggregate). Tanzania’s Namungo also thumped Angola’s Primeiro de Agosto 6-2 in their re-arranged first-leg meeting.
Algeria’s ES Setif eliminated Ghana’s Asante Kotoko 2-1 on aggregate after their goalless stalemate, while Burkina Faso’s Salitas secured a thrilling 3-1 (3-2 on aggregate) triumph over Bouenguidi of Gabon. Zambia’s Nkana lost 2-1 at Tas Casablanca but advanced 3-2 on aggregate, with Simon Mulenga’s away goal proving the key body blow against the Morrocan hopefuls.
Saturday’s lone match saw AS Kigali and CS Sfaxien draw 1-1 in the Rwandan capital, though the Tunisians – who are three-time Caf Confederation Cup champions – advanced comfortably with a 5-2 aggregate triumph.
The following ties are still to be completed: Etoile du Sahel v Young Buffaloes and Primeiro de Agosto v Namungo. The 15 aggregate winners in the playoff round advance to join reigning champions RS Berkane of Morocco in the group stage. The draw for the group stage is scheduled to be held on Monday 22 February at the Caf headquarters in Cairo.
Caf Confederation Cup weekend results
Playoff round, second-leg results. Aggregate score in parenthesis.
Saturday 20 February
AS Kigali 1-1 CS Sfaxien (2-5)
Sunday 21 February
US Monastir 1-0 Raja Casablanca (1-1 – Raja won 6-5 on penalties)
NAPSA Stars 2-2 Gor Mahia (3-2)
DC Motema Pembe 1-1 Al Ahly Benghazi (2-2 – Al Ahly won 8-7 on penalties)
Primeiro de Agosto 2-6 Namungo (first-leg result)
Coton Sport 1-0 AS SONIDEP (2-0)
JS Kabylie 1-0 Stade Malien (2-2)
Rivers United 1-0 Enyimba (1-1 – Enyimba won 5-4 on penalties)
Orlando Pirates 1-0 Jwaneng Galaxy (4-0)
ASC Diaraf 1-0 FC Platinum (2-0)
Pyramids FC 2-0 RC Abidjan (4-0)
ES Setif 0-0 Asante Kotoko (2-1)
Salitas 3-1 AS Bouenguidi (3-2)
TAS Casablanca 2-1 Nkana (2-3). – Super Sport.
