CAFCL: Rangers, Remo shine at home with opening first-leg wins

The CAF Champions League (CAFCL) first round of preliminary fixtures that involved Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) clubs on Sunday, August 18, ended in victories for both Rangers International and Remo Stars in Nigeria.

Rangers took a massive first step, as the 2023/24 NPFL Champion defeated US Zilimadjou 1-0, courtesy of Frank Uwumiro’s first-half strike at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium in Enugu.

It was a job well done for the Fidelis Ilechukwu-led side, who’ll host Zilimadjou again in Enugu for the second leg. The Comoros side had adopted the Nest of Champions as their home ground for their continental campaign after their home ground failed to meet CAF requirements.

Meanwhile, Remo Stars faced a challenging encounter in Ikenne, where they edged out familiar foes AS FAR with a 2-1 victory in their third season in CAF competitions. The Blue Sky Stars were eliminated by FAR in the preliminary round of the CAFCC in September 2022, but true to head coach Daniel Ogunmodede’s assertion of match readiness, the Ikenne-based team secured their first dose of revenge.

After a 19-minute deadlock at the Remo Stars Stadium, Junior Nduka opened the scoring by redirecting Sodiq Ismail’s free-kick into the net. However, FAR responded with a crucial away goal in the 50th minute through Joel Beya, before Ismail struck again to secure the win for Remo ahead of the second leg in Morocco.

In other action, El-Kanemi Warriors of Maiduguri left it late to snatch a 1-1 draw against Beninese side FC Dadje in their CAFCC first preliminary round fixture on Saturday, August 17.

The Maiduguri-based team, initially unsettled by scheduling issues, found themselves trailing after Selasie Bakai’s 30th-minute strike. However, Gimba Ajiji salvaged a draw with a 90th-minute equaliser.

The reigning President’s Cup champions will travel to Cotonou, Benin Republic, on August 24 for the second leg.