CAF Confederation Cup: Diables Noirs silence Rivers United in Brazaville 

By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde

Rivers United were condemned to a losing start in the group stage of the CAF Confederation Cup following a 3-0 loss to Diables Noirs of Congo in the opening group match in Brazzaville.

The Pride of Rivers saw their opening match in Group B crumbling after three quick-fire goals within seven minutes in the first half by the Congolese side.

Carl Wunda opened the scoring for Diables Noirs at the half-hour mark before Jaures Maudsly Ngombe to double the host’s lead two minutes later.

The worse befell the visitors as Domi Jaures Massoumou increased Diables Noirs’ lead to three in the 37th minute.

Rivers, however, returned into the encounter on a high as Stanley Eguma’s side had the chance to reduce the deficit from the penalty spot in the 57th minute but setpiece specialist, Ebube Duru, unfortunately, missed the spot kick.

The Port Harcourt based side will hope to return to winning ways against Enugu Rangers in the NPFL on February 15 before facing Asec Mimosa of Ivory Coast in its second group game on February 19.

In the other Group B tie, ASEC Mimosas of Cote d’Ivoire and Motema Pembe from DR Congo played a barren draw, a scoreline that effectively condemned Rivers United to the bottom spot after the end of the first set of games.