Its about time they beat Al Ahly
A bit late, but ...
Nigeria dominates Confederations Cup last eight
African football powerhouse, Nigeria dominates the last eight of the Confederations Cup, with the qualification of Kwara United and 2005 losing finalists, Dolphins over the weekend. The continents most populous country, thus have two representatives for the group stages with the remaining six scattered around the continent. Kwara United pipped domestic rivals Nasarawa United by a lone goal in the all Nigerian affair at Ilorin, thanks to an 80th minute strike from Ghanaian import Ahmed Mohammed.
Kwara, thus advanced on a 2-1 aggregate after the first leg ended 1-1. In Calabar, Dolphins edged out Togolese outfit, Maranatha Fiokpo courtesy a 2-0 scoreline despite initial protests from some players over unpaid salaries. Striker Biola Bello opened the scorings in the 7th minute before Eze Nwobike made it two in the second half. Egyptian side, Ismaili ended the hopes of Morocco’s Wydad Casablanca by beating them 2-0 on Friday, to confirm their place in the last eight.
Ahmed Samir Farag broke the deadlock on the quarter-hour mark before Mohammed Abdul Wahed Shuttered the hopes of the Moroccans with the second on stoppage time. French coach of Ismaili, Patrice Neveu convinced with his sides performance said “We deserved this victory as we were the better side.”Neveu has also set his mind on the ultimate, which he has described as one of his targets for the season after losing out on the league title to rivals Al Ahly.
South African champions, Mamelodi Sundowns inched closer to their hopes of a continental title this year as they held Tunisian side Gafsa to a one all draw away to advance on a 3-2 aggregate.
Gafsa, making a debut appearance in the continental club series took an early lead through Radhouene Ben Ouannes as early as the sixth minutes which annulled the 1-2 loss in the first leg.But eight minutes later, Zimbabwean veteran striker Peter Ndlovu broke the hearts of the home fans with the equalizer.
In Sfax, CS Sfaxien made certain of a representative for Tunisia as they hammered Coton Sport of Cameroon 4-0 to progress on a 5-2 aggregate. A brace from Hamza Sellimi and one each from playmaker, AbdelKarim Nafti and Hamza Younes ensured last years Champions league losing finalists passage to the next stage.Astres Douala restored hope for Cameroon as they beat Congolese side, Etoile 2-0 to advance on a 3-2 aggregate.A goal each from Amia Ekanga and Paul Ncha ensured Astres’ progress. Al Merreikh of Sudan made history by qualifying for group stages of the competition at the expense of Young Africans of Tanzania.
The Sudanese side beat their guests 2-0 with goals from Faisal Ajab and Abdel Hamid Saudy in the 27th and 36th minutes respectively.Merreikh’s feat means that Sudan is represented in both club competitions with Al Hilal in the CAF Champions League.TP Mazembe routed Zimbabwes Mwana Africa 3-1 in Harare for a place in the last eight carrying a lone goal victory from the first leg. Striker Kaluyituka Diyoko, Mputu Mabi and Mvete Luyeye scored for the Lubumbashi-based club while Webster Muronda grabbed a consolation for the homesters.
The final eight clubs are Ismaili, TP Mazembe, Mamelodi Sundowns, Astres Douala, CS Sfaxien, Al-Merreikh, Dolphin, Kwara United. The draw for the competition is fixed for May 28 in Zurich with the winner expected to bag $300,000.
The full results
Nasarawa Utd (Nigeria) 1-1 Kwara Utd (Nigeria)
Kwara Utd 1-0 Nasarawa Utd
Kwara qualify 2-1 on aggregate
Maranatha (Togo) 1-2 Dolphins (Nigeria)
Dolphins 2-0 Maranatha
Dolphins qualify 4-1 on aggregate
Etoile (Congo) 2-1 Astres Douala (CMR)
Astres Douala 2-0 Etoile
Astres qualify on 3-2 on aggregate
Wydad Casablanca (Morocco) 0-1 Ismaili (Egypt)
Ismaili 2-0 Wydad Casablanca
Ismaili qualify 3-0 on aggregate
TP Mazembe (DR Congo) 1-0 Mwana Africa (Zimbabwe)
Mwana Africa 1-3 TP Mazembe
TP Mazembe qualify 4-1 on aggregate
Young Africans (Tanzania) 0-0 Al-Merreikh (Sudan)
Al-Merreikh 2-0 Young Africans
Al-Merreikh qualify 2-0 on aggregate
Sundowns (South Africa) 2-1 Gafsa (Tunisia)
Gafsa 1-1 Mamelodi Sundowns
Sundowns qualify 3-2 on aggregate
Coton Sport (Cameroon) 2-1 CS Sfaxien (Tunisia)
CS Sfaxien 4-0 Coton Sport
CS Sfaxien qualify 5-2 on aggregate