Nigeria Federation Cup champions, Enyimba FC, on Sunday defeated Smouha SC of Egypt 1-0 in the first leg of their CAF Champions League second round match at the Enyimba International Stadium, Aba.
A lone goal from substitute Cameroonian Raphael Boumsong gave Enyimba a slim advantage in the race for the group stages of the competition.
The second leg of the match will come up in a fortnight at the Alexandria Stadium in Egypt.
Kadiri Ikhana did not list last season’s Nigeria Professional Football League highest goal scorer, Mfon Udoh, for the match.
The home side started the match brightly as Kingsley Sokari got the first and second shots of the match which Mohamed Soliman in goal for Smouha parried to safety.
Enyimba could not convert their pressure to goals, as Daniel Etor crashed a left-footed shot against the post in the 20th minute.
The game became a tale of wasted chances for the home side with the visitors also threatening to take the lead.
Smouha were left defending for most of the match but Boumsong who replaced Bashir Abdulrahman ensured the game did not end in a stalemate when he headed home a Chinonso Okonkwo cross in the 55th minute.
The visitors had a goal disallowed in the 65th minute as the hosts held on and lost other chances to increase the tally.
In the Glo Premier League, Kano Pillars coach, Okey Emordi, has described the club’s 2-0 win over Bayelsa United on Saturday as a motivation for the players, who suffered an armed robbery attack last week.
The Nigeria Professional Football League champions played their first match of the new season at the Sani Abacha Stadium, Kano, in the Week Two of the league after the attack kept them out of the Week One clash against Heartland in Owerri.
Goals from Ubong Ekpai, who is one of the players injured in the attack, and Adamu Mohammed, ensured three points for the Masu Gida.
Emordi, who praised the team’s resolve, said, “The win means a lot to us as a team because we’ve been through a lot in the last one week. The armed robbery attack was a bad one and we missed the Heartland game because of that. But to have come from that setback so soon to win our first game of the season means so much.
“Even some of the players that were injured in the attack featured and played well in the win and that says a lot about the spirit and culture of this club. The ultimate desire of course was to get all three points which we did, but given what we’ve been through, it definitely means a lot more.”
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