Nigeria representatives, Enyimba and Remo Stars, were on Sunday knocked out of the 2023/2024 CAF Champions League (CAFCL) after the two sides failed to do needful at home, www.aclsports.com reports.
Enyimba came into the fixture needing just a win in Aba after the narrow 4-3 loss to Ahli Benghazi last weekend, while Remo Stars, who lost 1-0 in Cape Coast, needed to win by at least two goals in Ikenne with the Ghanaians not scoring to scale through. However, it did not happen as planned, as Enyimba played out a goalless draw, while the Sky Blue Stars lost 3-2 on penalties.
Remo Stars struggled to carve out a clear goalscoring chance for large parts of the first half, while goalkeeper Kayode Bankole had to make quick reaction stops to prevent his side from going behind at home.
Sensing the defensive shape of the away side, coach Daniel Ogunmodede introduced winger Olamilekan Adams in the 37th minute and things changed almost instantly. Adams went for goal after a quick one-two with Sikiru Alimi but his attempt went off the mark as the half ended goalless.
After the break, Adams continued to cause trouble on the right-hand side and could have grabbed a sensational goal after beating three Medeama players but his attempt went narrowly wide off the post. Moments later, his header from a long clearance was tipped onto the upright by goalkeeper Felix Kyei.
The second-half pressure from the home side eventually paid off in the end when a delivery by Adams was not dealt with by the Medeama defence resulting in an own goal to level the tie 1-1 on aggregate with 15 minutes to go. After the lead, Bankole still made big saves from Jonathan Sowah on more than two occasions to keep the tie level. However, Remo would rue their luck as a well-worked goal by Samuel Anakwe was chalked off for offside late on as the game went to penalties.
During the shootout, Remo only scored their first and last spot-kicks with the Ghanaians scoring three of their own to march into the next round of the competition.
In Aba, Enyimba FC played out a goalless draw with Ahli Benghazi. Following the three away goals scored last weekend, it was expected that the Nigerian champions would do the needful in front of their crowd to reach the next stage but they could not get it done and were deservedly knocked out.
By virtue of the defeats, Nigeria will have no representative in the continent’s elite competition this season, while Rivers United and Bendel Insurance are in the final qualifying round of the CAF Confed Cup.
