Veteran John Antwi scored as Dreams of Ghana returned to contention for a place in the quarter-finals of the CAF Confederations Cup with a 2-1 Group C win over Rivers United of Nigeria on Sunday.
He put the hosts in front after 35 minutes in Kumasi and Abdel Issac doubled the lead on 74 minutes in the West African derby matchday two.
An Alex Oyowah goal three minutes into added time was too little, too late as Rivers achieved an unbeaten record this season in the African equivalent of the UEFA Europa League.
Antwi has scored three goals in the campaign — one short of chart-topper Abdulmunem Aleiyan of Libyan side Abu Salim.
Tunisia’s Club Africain, 3-1 away winners over bottom side Academica Lobito of Angola, top the table with six points, followed by Dreams and Rivers with three each.
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The group winners and runners-up after six matches advance to the quarter-finals of a competition won by USM Alger of Algeria last season.
USM maintained a perfect Group A record with a 2-0 away win over South Africa’s SuperSport United in Polokwane.
Clinical finishing in the heat produced goals for Saadi Radouani five minutes into the first half and Braham Benzaza 11 minutes after half-time.
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“We were very efficient, we defended well and when we had chances to score we took them,” said Spanish-born USM coach Jean Carlos Garrido.
“Playing away in Africa is always challenging, but we appreciated the excellent training facilities and pitch here.”
SuperSport manager Gavin Hunt highlighted the poor finish after back-to-back defeats for a club that was runners-up in 2017.
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“I am encouraged by the fact that we are creating goalscoring opportunities at home and in Africa. We have to keep going and hope for a change of fortune,” he said.
In the same section, Modern Future of Egypt earned a red card to grab a 2-1 win at Al Hilal Benghazi, Libya with Gambian Kajaly Drammeh scoring the decisive goal in added time.
USM, the only Algerian team to win the Confederations Cup, lead Future on goal difference with both six points.
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Hours after SuperSport’s defeat, South Africans had cause for celebration as Sekhukhune United came from behind to edge out Diables Noirs of Congo Brazzaville 2-1 at the same Polokwane ground.
Third-placed Sekhukhune are three points behind Group D pacesetters Renaissance Berkane of Morocco, who won 2-1 at Stade Malien in Mali thanks to a brace from Paul Bassene.
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