CAF Confederation Cup
How Rivers Utd Scaled Rayon Sports’ Hurdle
BY SAMMY WEJINYA.
Ten-man Rivers United FC of Nigeria on Saturday knocked reigning Rwanda Peace Cup champions, Rayon Sports out of the 2017 CAF Confederation Cup after a drama-filled goalless draw in the return leg of the playoff round at a rocking Amahoro Stadium in Kigali.
Rayon Sports were required to win 2-0 to take the tie into extra time or 3-0 to win it outright and advance the group stage but ‘Gikundiro’ met an immovable object in the shape of the ‘Pride of Rivers’.
United played with a man less for more than half an hour in the second half against a Rayon side back by a vociferous home crowd but grit, resolve and the never-say-die-Nigerian spirit was evident in the gladiatorial display which eventually proved to be the tide that carried Nigeria’s sole survivor in 2017 Inter CAF club competitions to safety.
United withstood predictable early pressure from the hosts and nearly silenced the Amahoro by snatching a shock lead, albeit an own goal, by Rayon Sports in the 18th minute.
Sakin did well to cross from the left but his dangerous delivery was diverted away for a corner by Jerry Mutsinzi with Guy Kuemian lurking on his shoulder.
Ten minutes later, the United players heaved a collective sigh of relief to see the score still even as Kwizera Pierrot curled a free kick inches wide from 25 yards but the boys from Nigeria seemed to exemplify men on a mission.
They hit back almost immediately through Sakin who almost gave them the lead on the stroke of half time but saw his volley fly just over Ndayisimiye Eric’s right hand post with the Rayon Sports goalkeeper in no man’s land.
Rayon predictably stepped on the accelerator after the break but met the United rear guard in uncompromising form.
As the Rwandans pressed further up the pitch, United looked to exploit gaping holes and almost made them pay in the 54th minute when Emeka Ogbugh embarked on a mazy run on the right only to see his strike from a tight angle fly inches over the bar.
Three minutes later, Rayon Sports seemed to have been handed a lifeline as Ifeanyi Nweke received a red card for catching Savio Dominique with a high boot.
Rayon could smell blood; they honed in for the kill with wave after wave of unrelenting attacks but the Nigerians stood their ground, defending in gladiatorial fashion to produce a heroic shut out.
Nahimana Shassir almost set up a grand stand finish with a superb effort that almost crept into Rotimi’s far post late in the second half but Lady luck was wearing a white vest on the day!
Rayon Sports head coach, Masoud Djuma was predictably downcast at full time but praised United as deserved winners of the tie.
“We lost to a better and more experienced side today and I want to say congratulations to Rivers United for their qualification,” Djuma exclusively told official www.riversunitedfc.com.ng.
Technical manager of Rivers United, Stanley Eguma also took the time to discuss his side’s progress to the group stage of the CAF Confederation Cup at the club’s first time of asking.
“It was a tough match but it was what we expected. We had a tactical plan and even after we had a man sent off, we did not panic. I am pleased that we were able to get the job done and qualify for the group stage of the competition,” he said.
CAF Confederation Cup
CAF adjudges Morocco’s Youssef Mehri’s goal as the fastest in football history
Moroccan club, Renaissance de Berkane, beat their Algerian counterparts, CS Constantine, 4-0 in the first leg of the CAF Confederation Cup semi-finals at the weekend.
The game got off to a dream start for the Moroccan club as it took Youssef Mehri less than a minute to open the scoring in the big win against the Algerians.
Officially, the goal is recorded to have been scored after 13 seconds.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), CAF remarks: “Youssef Mehri goes straight into the history books. The RS Berkane striker scores the fastest goal ever scored in the CAF Cup.”
A deeper search by Sports Village Square indicates that a Nigerian player, Paul Onuachu, had previously scored a faster goal, but not in a CAF Cup duel.
The basketball player-like footballer scored his first international goal in a 1-0 defeat of Egypt on 26 March 2019.
The goal inflicted Nigeria’s first defeat on Egypt in 29 years. But more significant was the timing of the goal. Onuachu, within eight seconds of kick-off, undoubtedly entered the record books as the second fastest goal in international football records after that of Germany’s Lukas Podolsk, who scored after six seconds in a friendly against Ecuador in 2013.
Fans had hardly settled down at the Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba for the Nigeria versus Egypt match when Onuachu released a thunderous shot that turned out to be the match’s decider.
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The Renaissance Sportive de Berkane delegation will travel to Algeria this Friday to face CS Constantine in the CAF Cup. Tension may be building up for the potentially explosive confrontation that could have a build-up from last year’s fixtures of the Moroccan club and another Algerian outfit, USM Algiers, in the CAF Confederation Cup.
A Moroccan news outlet, Sport.le360, reports that a Tunisian airline will operate the direct flight between Oujda-Angad Airport, which is located about 12 kilometres north of Oujda and about 600 kilometres northeast of Casablanca, near the Algerian border and Constantine Mohamed Boudiaf International Airport.
Last year, political differences between Morocco and Algeria scuttled similar semi-final clashes between clubs of both countries.
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The Court of Arbitration for Sport on Wednesday ruled in favour of the Algerian football federation in a row over a map of Morocco on shirts worn by Renaissance Berkane in the 2024 CAF Confederation Cup.
Algerian club USM Alger were kicked out of last year’s competition after both legs of their semi-final against Berkane were cancelled because of a diplomatic dispute.
Neither match took place as USMA and the Algerian authorities objected to a map of Morocco on the Berkane shirts which included Western Sahara.
Algeria cut diplomatic ties with North African neighbours Morocco in 2021, partly over the Western Sahara issue.
The former Spanish colony is largely controlled by Morocco but claimed by the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, which seeks the territory’s independence.
The Confederation of African Football awarded Berkane a 3-0 victory for both legs of the semi-final.
CAF at the time responded to an appeal by the Algerian FA by ruling in favour of Berkane, saying the club had been wearing the same jerseys since the start of the tournament.
But the Algerian FA took the case to sport’s highest court in Switzerland, which determined that the shirts in question were “contrary to CAF regulations, as they display a territorial map that is of a political nature.”
“The image of a map of Morocco including Western Sahara on the shirts of RS Berkane depicts a message, a demonstration or propaganda of a political nature as it represents the assertion of a territorial dispute that is contested and still unresolved as of today,” CAS said in a statement.
“By the laws of the game of the International Football Association Board, it is prohibited to convey any content of a political nature on all equipment, including shirts.”
CAS added that the initial decision by CAF to “maintain the approval of the shirts is annulled”, but the court said that it would have no effect on the results of the tournament.
Egypt’s Zamalek beat Berkane on away goals in the final.
-AFP
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