Caf Confederation Cup Group C Review: Enyimba & CARA advance, Williamsville bow out

Enyimba defeated CARA Brazzaville 1-0 to record a home winning return at Aba Stadium to advance to the quarterfinals of this year’s Caf Confederation Cup on Tuesday.

Despite losing in Aba, the Congolese progressed at the expense of Williamsville, who failed to win at home in Abidjan against already eliminated Djoliba in the final matches of Group C..

Enyimba 1-0 CARA Brazzaville

Enyimba relentlessly fought hard to avenge their first leg 3-0 thrashing against CARA Brazzaville as they secured a vital 1-0 win to mark their glorious return to Aba.

The Congolese traveled to Nigeria on the back of a 3-1 home victory over Williamsville in Brazzaville and were needing a draw against Usman Abdullah’s side to go through.

After a goalless first half, Enyimba pushed on to find a break the deadlock but were made to wait till the death in the 95th minute to secure their winner through substitute Wasiu Alalade.

The win saw the Nigerians finished winners of Group C and sealed a passage to the quarterfinal with 12 points from six games, while CARA settled for the runners up spot with nine points.

Having advanced, Enyimba will face Rayon Sports of Rwanda in the quarterfinal, while the Congolese take on Algerian giants USM Alger in the knockout stages next month.

Williamsville 0-0 Djoliba

Williamsville and Djoliba settled for a drab goalless draw in their final encounter of the group stages at the Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny.

For the Malians, it was a dead rubber contest after their elimination was confirmed by a late stunning 1-0 defeat to Enyimba at home Stade Modibo Kéïta, Bamako.

On the part of the Ivorians, they were smarting from their 3-1 horrible loss to CARA in Brazzaville and had hopes of bouncing back to claim three points to qualify from Group C.

However, the hosts laboured to create and convert their chances but the visitors continued to frustrate them till the encounter ended in a drab stalemate with the two teams sharing the spoils.

The draw ratified Williamsville crashing out of the competition, having ended in third with eight points, while Djoliba retained the bottom spot with six points after the sixth round of matches.