Report: Rangers crash out of CAFCL, as Enyimba seals CAFCC spot after shootout thriller in Uyo

Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) clubs experienced mixed results in continental competitions on Sunday, September 22.

Rangers International were eliminated from the CAF Champions League (CAFCL), while Enyimba FC secured their place in the CAF Confederation Cup (CAFCC) group stage, thanks to a penalty shootout victory at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo.

After a 1-0 victory over Sagrada Esperança at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium on Friday, September 13, Rangers fell 3-1 to the Angolan side at the Estádio 11 de Novembro in Luanda.

Head coach Fidelis Ilechukwu made three changes to his previous lineup, bringing in Kazeem Ogunleye, Evans Ogbonda, and Frank Uwumiro to replace Bashir Usman, Ekerson Okorie, and Kenneth Igboke.

However, just six minutes into the match, Alexandre Fernando put the hosts ahead, leveling the aggregate score at 1-1. Rangers’s struggles continued as Mussa doubled Esperança’s lead 27 minutes later.

The reigning NPFL champions briefly rekindled their hopes when Anayor Ogbonna’s 37th-minute strike secured a crucial away goal, but their fortunes took a decisive hit in the second half. Jamie Pimpao’s goal in the 67th minute sealed a 3-1 aggregate victory for Esperança, knocking Rangers out of the CAFCL preliminary round.

This defeat ended Rangers’ three-match winning streak on the continent and ensured no NPFL club will participate in the 2024/25 CAF Champions League group stage, following Remo Stars’s earlier elimination in the preliminary stages first round.

Elsewhere in the CAFCC, Enyimba needed penalties to seal a spot in the competition’s group stage. After a goalless draw in the first leg of the tie against Étoile Filante at the Stade Mamadou Konaté in Bamako on September 13, the return leg in Uyo also ended 0-0, which led to a penalty shootout.

The People’s Elephants held their nerves to oust the Burkina Faso side 3-2 in the shoutout, becoming the only NPFL club to qualify for CAF competitions’s group stage, following El-Kanemi Warriors’s exit in the CAFCC first-round.

Despite the ultimate victory, Enyimba’s goal drought on the continent extended to five matches