By Daily Sports on January 12, 2019

Lobi Stars Football Club of Makurdi on Friday beat visiting Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa 2-1 in their Group A Match Day 1 fixture in the 2018/2019 CAF Champions League.

In the match played at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium in Enugu, the visiting side drew the first blood in the 38th minute through Liberian Anthony Laffor.

Yaya Kone however drew the hosts level seven minutes later from the penalty spot, sending the ball past goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene after an infringement on Sunday Adetunji.

The hosts went a gear up in the second half and in the 52nd minute Samuel Matthias scored to put them in front.

They held on thereafter to maintain the scoreline for a win which gives them the three points.

In the other Group A match, Moroccans Wydad, who won the competition a second time two years ago, scored four second-half goals to trounce Ivory Coast visitors ASEC Mimosas 5-2 in Rabat.

Ismail el Haddad and Wonlo Coulibaly exchanged first-half goals before Nigerian Michael Babatunde, Zouhair el Moutaraji, Walid el Karti and Badie Aouk netted for Wydad.

Salif Bagate scored a late consolation goal for the Abidjan outfit, who did not concede in four qualifiers, admittedly against far less formidable rivals than the Casablanca club.

The triumph took Wydad to the top of Group A on goal difference from Nigerians Lobi Stars.

Anice Badri, seventh in the 2018 African Player of the Year competition won by Liverpool and Egypt star Mohamed Salah three days ago, saved Tunisian club Esperance from a Group B defeat.

The defending champions trailed 2018 quarter-finalists Horoya in Guinea from the middle of the second half when Ghana-born former Burkina Faso international Ocansey Mandela struck.

That goal separated the teams in Conakry until the fourth minute of stoppage when 2018 Champions League leading scorer Badri equalised.

Horoya were the superior side, keeping Esperance goalkeeper Rami Jeridi busy throughout, only to be deprived of victory at the death.

Antonio Souare, the multi-millionaire chairman of the Guinean club, has told his players that he expects nothing less than a Champions League semi-finals place this season.

Former champions Orlando Pirates from South Africa are awayto group debutants Platinum of Zimbabwe in Bulawayo Saturday in the other Group B fixture.

Record eight-time African champions Al Ahly from Egypt host 2018 CAF Confederation Cup runners-up V Club from the Democratic Republic of Congo in the pick of the Saturday matches.

Match Day 2 fixtures in the group will come up on January 19, with Lobi Stars visiting ASEC Mimosas in Abidjan and Mamelodi Sundowns hosting Wydad AC in Pretoria. (NAN)

•Photo shows Lobi Stars players

Source Daily Sports

Posted January 12, 2019

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