Holders Ahly and former Enyimba are in danger of exiting the 2014 Orange CAF Champions League, unless they conjure magical performances in this weekend’s second leg matches of the 1/16th round.
Whilst Ahly are favoured to overturn a lone goal defeat from the first leg against Young Africans of Tanzania on Sunday, two-time winners Enyimba will be threading a dangerous path in Bamako as guests of AR Real.
The Malians stunned Nigeria’s surviving club in the premier continental club championship, beating them 2-1 in Aba, to end the latter’s eight-year unbeaten spell at home that also put their chances of progress hanging by the slimmest of chances.
AS Real, the club that served the breeding ground for mali legend, Salif Keita and losing finalists in the 1966 edition, are responsible for the exit of former winners, AS FAR of Morocco at the preliminary round.
Enyimba must score at least two unanswered goals to go past their hosts, a task that striker Mfon Udon reckons difficult but achievable.
“We have to believe we can go to mali and do the same thing they did in Aba. We are a team that wants to go as far as possible in this competition so we have to go there and prove ourselves,” he told the club’s website.
Another former winner on the brink of exit is Raja Athletic Club of Morocco, who need to overturn a lone goal deficit against Horoya of Guinea in Casablanca
Cameroon champions, Coton Sport also find themselves in a similar dilemma as they host Flambeau de l’EST of Burundi in the northern city of Garoua.
Congolese duo, AS Vita Club and TP Mazembe will be at home to visiting Dynamos (Zimbabwe) and Les Astres (Cameroon) in Kinshasa and Lumbumbashi respectively. Vita pulled a barren draw in the first leg in Harare whilst Mazembe are tipped to scale over Astres, whom they held 1-1 in Douala last week.
Nigeria-born striker Stephen Worgu looks set to make his international debut for new club, Al Hilal against Stade Malien of Mali in Khartoum. The striker, top scorer in the same competition in 2008 with Enyimba (scored 13 goals) was a pale shadow of himself during his four years with Merrikh, and is looking forward to prove he still has something to offer after crossing carpet to their city rivals.
Tunisia’s representatives, CS Sfaxien and Esperance are favoured to complete a double over East African duo, Dedebit (Ethiopia) and Gor Mahia (Kenya) into the next round. Sfaxien won 2-1 in Addis Ababa whilst Esperance returned with a 3-2 victory in Nairobi.
Five-time winners, Zamalek of Egypt face a tough test in Luanda against Angolan champions, Kabuscorp after managing a lone goal win in the first leg. Ahmed Hossam ‘Mido’ of the Egyptian side remains upbeat about their chances against Kabuscorp, who have former TP Mazembe captain Tresor Mputu and former Cameroon captain Albert Meyong in their roster.
“We will play to win in Angola. Kabuscorp will be under pressure to score from the start. Our players have the quality to survive,” Mido was quoted to Egyptian press.
AC Leopards of Congo and Kaizer Chiefs of South Africa travel to Luanda and Maputo with a fee each at the next round on the backdrop of huge wins from the first leg. Leopards won 4-1 in Dolisie whilst Chief triumphed 4-0.
Fixtures
Friday, 7 March 2014
Kabuscorp (Angola) vs Zamalek (Egypt) (0-1)
Saturday, 8 March 2014
AS Real (Mali) vs Enyimba (Nigeria) (2-1)
Esperance (Tunisia) vs Gor Mahia (Kenya) (3-2)
Kampala City Council (Uganda) vs Nkana (Zambia) (2-2)
Raja Club Athletic (Morocco) vs Horoya (Guinea) (0-1)
ASFA Yennenga (Burkina Faso) vs ES Setif (Algeria) (0-5)
Primeiro de Agosto (Angola) vs AC Leopards (Congo) (1-4)
Liga Muculmana (Mozambique) vs Kaizer Chiefs (South Africa) (0-4)
Sunday, 9 March 2014
Al-Ahly (Egypt) vs Young Africans (Tanzania) (0-1)
Ahli Benghazi (Libya) vs Berekum Chelsea (Ghana) (1-1)
TP Mazembe (DR Congo) vs Astres (Cameroon) (1-1)
Sewe Sport (Cote d’Ivoire) vs BYC (Liberia) (3-3)
CS Sfaxien (Tunisia) vs Dedebit (Ethiopia) (2-1)
Coton Sport (Cameroon) vs Flambeau (Burundi) (0-1)
El Hilal (Sudan) vs Stade Malien (Mali) (0-0)
AS Vita Club (DR Congo) vs Dynamos (Zimbabwe) (0-0)
Confederation of African Football (CAF) News
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