Admin l Sunday, February 12, 2017
BAMAKO, Mali – Rivers United FC on Saturday began their campaign in the Confederation of African Cup, CAF cup championship by picking a draw with Real Bamako FC far away in Mali.
But while it was good for the visitors, it was bad news for the home side who will have to work extra hard during the return leg in Nigeria to pull either a draw or very difficult win.
But Rivers united almost paid dearly in the 11 minutes when Makan Sangaly took the set piece to connect El Hadji El Hadji Salim Bah who overlaps, shooting off target.
Rivers United got a free kick in the 21st minutes but Efosa shot wide. In the 24 minutes, Olalekan was wrestled to the ground by Ballo Musa just outside box 18 fetching Rivers United another free kick.There was an anxious moment for Rivers when Nzube hit the back of the net but the referee ruled it offside. Real Bamako however has Sogoba, to thank for the many saves of the day.
Mohammed Camara however broke free in the 41st minutes following careless defending by Rivers United but a goal mouth clearance saved the day. Inaccurate header by Lukeman who received a cross from Zube in the 45 minutes however denied Rivers the opportunity of shooting into the lead in the first half.
Rivers coach, Stanley Eguma made a couple of changes to turn the game around. Asamoah Godbless came in for Lukeman Mohammed in the 56th minutes and Temitope Folarin for Mohammed Camara in the 79th minutes and Bernard Ovoke for Nzube Nnaezemba in the 84th minutes. But the changes failed to yield the desired result for Rivers United.
