Enyimba off to flying start in CAF Confederation Cup

Nigerian club Enyimba International defeated Libya’s Al Ahly Benghazi 2-1 in Aba on Wednesday (March 10) in their opening group game of the 2020-21 CAF Confederation Cup.

Austin Oladapo gave Enyimba the lead in the ninth minute via a signature effort, hit with venom from range. The visitors were back on level terms nine minutes later as Abdallah Imhamed converted a penalty to peg the scores at 1-1.

Stung into action, the hosts stepped on the accelerator in search of a lead for the second time in the afternoon. Their endeavours reaped rewards as Victor Mbaoma restored the lead of the ‘People’s Elephant’ two minutes before the break.

Enyimba head coach Fatai Osho was pleased with the win even as he bemoaned his side’s failure to win in more comprehensive fashion.
“Getting a win in matches like this is extremely important,” Osho said. “We made a mistake which gave them a route back into the game through a penalty.
“However we showed our quality by taking the lead again before the half time interval. We should have scored more goals in the second half but winning today was extremely important.
“We have seen where we made mistakes and will try to correct same before the next game.”

The Nigerian club are now the leaders of Group A of the CAF Confederation Cup with the second game on matchday one in the section still to be played. That game will be decided on Monday night at the Accra Sports Stadium in a match between Algerian side, ES Sétif and South African side, Orlando Pirates. Enyimba will next face  Pirates on March 17 at Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg.

Story by Sammy Wejinya

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