The Nigerian duo of Rivers United and Plateau United recorded massive home wins against Libyan opponents in the first leg of the CAF Confederation Cup additional second preliminary round matches on Wednesday.
The two sides who dropped off from the Champions League earned wins that have put them one foot into the group stages. Rivers United beat Al Nasr 5-0, while Plateau thrashed Al Akhdar 4-1.
At the Yakubu Gowon Stadium in Port Hacourt, Rivers were 2-0 up after 15 minutes. Ebube Duru gave them a 12th minute lead from the penalty spot after Ghanaian Paul Acquah was brought down inside the box by the Al Nasr keeper. Three minutes later, Enyinnaya Kazie doubled the lead.
The home side were taking control of proceedings and had more chances with Joseph Onoja and Chibuzor Ohawume, but both missed their targets. Rivers United made it 3-0 just before halftime when Acquah found the back of the net with a clean finish.
It was then 4-0 in the 64th minute, Duru completing his brace of penalties to get the score comfortable for the Nigerian side. Eighteen minutes from time, Malachi Ohawume completed five-star performance with a thunderbolt from distance to make it 5-0.
Plateau United 4-1 Al Akhdar
At the New Jos Stadium, Plateau hit Akhdar 4-1 to give themselves some good space for the return tie next week. Ibrahim Mustafa and Onyebuchi Ifeanyi scored in the 27th and 40th minutes to give the home side a 2-0 comfort at the break.
Albert Hillary’s acrobatic goal with quarter of an hour to play surely but sealed Plateau’s win and despite the visitors pulling one back 10 minutes later, Hillary added his second in added time to seal the victory.
The return tie matches will be played in a week’s time and the aggregate winners will qualify into the group stages.
Source: Voice of Nigeria
