Nigerian side Enyimba gave themselves a healthy advantage going into the second leg of their CAF Confederation Cup playoff round after holding South African champions Bidvest Wits to a 1-1 draw on Friday night.
Enyimba were making a return to South Africa for the first time in two years after they lost to Mamelodi Sundowns in the group stage of the Champions League in 2016. The People’s Elephant paraded a strong attacking line up which included three centre strikers and in-form winger Stanley Dimgba.
They however got behind with just three minutes on the clock when Daine Klate capitalised on a mix-up in the Enyimba defense to finish beyond goalkeeper Fatau Dauda, also making a return to South Africa after having had a two-year stint at the PSL.
The former African champions hit back almost immediately. Two of the three centre forwards, Abdulrahman Bashir and Ibrahim Mustapha combined in the fifth minute with the former threading a pass through to the latter who made no mistake in slotting under Wits goalkeeper Josephs.
A combination of good goalkeeping by Dauda and relentless defending by the visitors kept the South Africans at bay and hand Enyimba the advantage going into the second leg in Calabar on April 18.
Three more Nigerian sides are in Confederation Cup action this weekend. Plateau United and MFM FC face USM Alger and Djoliba at the Agege Stadium on Saturday and Sunday respectively while Akwa United are guests to Al Hilal in Omdurman.
