Nigerian club El Kanemi Warriors were stunned in the first round of the CAF Confederation Cup on Saturday, losing 2-1 to African debutants Dadje in Benin. With a 1-1 draw from the first leg, Dadje advanced 3-2 on aggregate and will face Morocco’s two-time champions, Renaissance Berkane, next month for a place in the group stage.
Dadje’s Bless Salassi was the standout player, following up his first-leg goal with two crucial strikes in the return match. He scored the opener at 30 minutes, with Clement Naantum equalizing seven minutes later. Salassi then scored the decisive goal in the 81st minute, securing a rare victory for Benin in an African competition.
Dadje will start their next fixture at home against Berkane, a team that has reached four of the last six Confederation Cup finals, winning two and finishing as runners-up twice.
STELLIES ADVANCE
Stellenbosch, another African debutant, progressed to the final qualifying round after a resounding 5-0 win over Ntsingizini Hotspurs from Eswatini. Former New Zealand international Andre de Jong was among the three second-half scorers for Stellenbosch, who won 8-0 on aggregate. They will face V Club from the Democratic Republic of Congo in September.
Mozambican side Black Bulls also had a dominant performance, defeating Alize Fort of the Comoros 4-0 in Maputo. Nigerian striker Ayuba Abubakar was on the scoresheet as Black Bulls won the tie 11-0 on aggregate. Despite the large margin, the Bulls fell short of the Confederation Cup record of 17-1 set by Gabonese club US Bitam in 2013. The next challenge for the Mozambican team will be against 15 de Agosto of Equatorial Guinea or Otoho of Congo Brazzaville.
In other matches, ZESCO United of Zambia and Dynamos of Zimbabwe drew 0-0 in Ndola, but Dynamos advanced with a 1-0 home win. Ghanaian side Nsoatreman, making their Confederation Cup debut, completed a double over Elect Sport of Chad with a 2-0 away win, finishing 5-0 on aggregate. Walid Fuseini and Stephan Diyou scored the goals for Nsoatreman, who will face either CS Constantine of Algeria or Police of Rwanda in their next fixture.
