Monday, March 3, 2008

CAF:Nigeria's CAF Representative Clubside Sailed Through

Nigeria's Gombe United advanced 4-1 on penalties to the second round of the CAF Champions League after beating DC Motema Pembe 2-0 to overturn their first leg deficit.
Enyimba also advanced, winning 3-2 with some ease in Congo despite being subjected to undisguised hostility by their hosts.
Gombe United were walking a tightrope after losing 2-0 in the first leg a fortnight ago, but their nerves were calmed when they were awarded a penalty in the first half.
Motema Pembe defender Dikoba handled in the box. There was not a whisper from the visitors when the referee pointed to the spot.
Nura Mohammed stepped forward and held his nerve well to convert. Five minutes later, he was back again to convert a second and put the hosts in the driving seat.
This time though, the Congolese were less than pleased with the decision.
Danjuma Abdullahi was ruled to have been unfairly brought down as he made for goal, and the referee infuriated the visitors by awarding a second spot kick.
After the protests had died down, Mohammed converted his second to bring the aggregate scores to 2-2. Although there were to be no further goals, there was a sending off incident.
Motema Pembe's Ziba was red-carded in the 81st minute.
With the scores tied 2-2 on aggregate, the tie went straight to penalties and Gombe triumphed 4-1 with goalkeeper John Gaadi saving two spot kicks to see Gombe through.
Meanwhile, Nigeria's other representatives Enyimba eased to a 3-2 win against Diables Noirs of Congo, despite complaining of a host of underhand antics by their opponents.
Club chairman Felix Anyansi-Agwu told KickOffNigeria.com that the squad was abandoned for over four hours on arrival at the airport in Congo.
Stephen Worgu scored twice for the Nigeria champions. His first goal came after 50 minutes, and the former Ocean Boys midfielder added a second with 15 minutes of play left.
Uche Kalu then sealed the tie with Enyimba's third goal soon after.
But the Congolese scored two quick goals in the closing minutes to give some respectability to the score line. The game was held up for about 10 minutes after crowd trouble, which saw an assistant referee injured by a missile from the stands.
However, while the ‘Peoples’ Elephants’ were showing the stuff that made them champions, two former holders Hearts of Oak of Ghana and Morocco's FAR Rabat were exiting the tournament.
The 2001 champions from Accra were knocked out of the competition by Gabonese side FC 105 Libreville on a 4-3 aggregate.

Hearts needed to overturn a 3-0 deficit but could only manage a 3-1 win in the second leg game at home yesterday.
FAR Rabat of Morocco also suffered a shock elimination from the tournament at the hands of little-known Sporting Praia of Cape Verde on Saturday.
The 1985 champions were eliminated 5-4 on penalties after the tie finished 3-3 on aggregate in Praia.

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