Rivers United have begun their hunt for continental glory with a 2-1 defeat to Futuro Kings during the preliminary round 1st leg of the CAF Confederation Cup on Saturday.
The game played at the Estadoi De Mongomo, Equatorial Guinea saw the host, Futuro Kings who were formed in 2017 dominating the game from the blast of the whistle.
The home side broke the deadlock in the 46th minute when Nkama Gregoire rose highest to head the ball past goalkeeper, Ospino Egbe.
The goal looked to have spurred the Nigerian side as they come forward in their numbers to get the equalizing goal. That almost paid off in the 59th minute when Chika Godwin thought he had the ball in the net, but the goal was called off for offside.
Futuro Kings who soaked up the pressure broke the hearts of Rivers United players to make the scoreline 2-0 in the 68th minute.
Not to leave Equatorial Guinea without a goal, Godwin Aguda through the penalty spot in the 77th minute got an away goal for the visitors as the game ended 2-1.
The second leg will take place at the Yakubu Gowon Stadium in Port Harcourt between 4th and 6th December 2020, where Rivers United will hope to qualify for the next round of the competition, needing just a one-nil victory against Futuro Kings.
In the same vein, Kano Pillars who are making their debut in the competition lost 3-1 against Jaraaf FC.
The Nigerian side began on a bright note when in the 13th minute, David Ebuka opened the scoring for his side at the Diop stadium in Dakar.
That was, however, short-lived as Zaky Bassenewas equalized in the 19th minute to make it 1-1 and in the 39th minute took the lead through Samba Dialo’s header.
At the restart of the second half, the host pilled more pressure on Pillars as they look to extend their lead but for Suraj Ayeleso pulling a good save in the 64th minute.
However, he was unable to stop Lubasse Gulye from extending Jaraaf’s lead in the 80th minute to 3-1 while compounding Nigeria’s woes further.
