Anayo Iwuala assists CR Belouizdad to a crucial win over Al-Merrikh

Nigerian International Anayo Iwuala’s assist was enough to help CR Belouizdad to a crucial 1-0 win over Al-Merrikh of Sudan in their CAF Champions League battle.

The former Enyimba winger returned to the starting lineup as his Algerian side hope to reach the quarterfinals of the continent’s elite club competition.

CR Belouizdad had just one win from their opening three games and suffered a 1-0 loss in the first leg away against the Sudanese.

The hosts got off to a strong start with the trio of Mokhtar Belkhiter, Amien Bouguerra, and Anayo testing the visitor’s defense but poor finishing let them down in the opening half-hour mark.

An effort that soon paid off as Anayo kept his composure and dribbled past his markers to find Mohamed Belkhir who bent it beyond the goalkeeper to make it 1-0.

The visitors had an improved second half but not enough effort to break the defense of their Algerian counterparts who stood firm to claim all points.

Anayo featured for 86 minutes as Belouizdad claimed its second win in the group to move up to second in group B with six points from a possible 12.

The 23-year-old had a game rating of 7.8 after completing four of his five dribble attempts and has two key passes.