Finidi’s Rivers United advance as wasteful Kwara United lose to Ghana’s Asante Kotoko

Rivers United kept Nigeria’s hopes alive in the CAF Champions League on Sunday, edging past DR Congo’s Les Aigles to secure a place in the final preliminary round, Soccernet.ng reports.

The Port Harcourt side, coached by Super Eagles legend Finidi George, sealed a 1-0 aggregate victory after a tense second leg at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo.

Defender Stephen Manyo delivered the decisive moment on the stroke of half-time, pouncing on a rebound after the visiting goalkeeper failed to deal with a routine free-kick.

It was a rare flash of quality in a cagey contest, with United happy to protect their slender advantage and see out the game.

The win means the Pride of Rivers now await either AC Léopards of Congo or Mozambique’s Black Bulls in the final qualifying stage, with the group phase of Africa’s most prestigious club competition just one step away.

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Rivers United join Remo Stars, who had already advanced at the weekend with victory over Comoros side US Zilimadjou.

For Nigerian football, however, the day was bittersweet.

Both representatives in the CAF Confederation Cup crashed out as the struggles of clubs competing outside the Champions League escalated on Sunday.

Abia Warriors exited after a narrow 1-0 defeat to Mali’s Djoliba in Bamako, sealing a 2-1 aggregate loss.

Kwara United’s campaign ended in even more frustration. Having scored three away goals in a chaotic first-leg defeat to Ghanaian giants Asante Kotoko, the Harmony Boys needed only a slim win in Abeokuta to progress. Instead, they wasted a string of chances and were undone by Hubert Ayau’s 54th-minute strike.

Kwara United head coach Tunde Sanni cut a disheartened figure afterwards.

“Honestly, I am very disappointed in my players. They played like they had nothing to lose and this is very painful,” he admitted.

For Kotoko boss Karim Zito, preparation paid off.

“We corrected our mistakes from the first leg and executed our plan perfectly,” he said after his side’s 5-3 aggregate triumph.

With Abia Warriors and Kwara United gone, Nigeria will not have a team in this season’s Confederation Cup group stage. That leaves Remo Stars and Rivers United carrying the nation’s flag in the Champions League.