Defending champions RS Berkane and Enyimba International secured home victories in their opening matches of the CAF Confederation Cup group stages which kicked off on Wednesday.
The Oranges recorded a bright start to their group stages campaign with a home triumph over Napsa Stars to top Group B standings on a goal-advantage after the opening matches.
Hamza Regragui opened the scoring by turning in Zakari Hadraf’s attempt on 12 minutes before Mouhssine Lajour scored the second goal on the 44th minute to hand the Moroccans maximum points.
In another match in Group B, JS Kabylie defeated Coton Sport of Cameroon 1-0 in a match played in Tizi Ouzou.
Badreddine Sayoud scored the only goal of the game in 88th-minute and the Algerians held on to the 1-0 lead despite enterprising Aboubakar Soulyemanou’s side attempts to break them down in the closing stages to earn a victory at home.
In Group A, Enyimba International got off to a flying start with a 2-1 victory over Al-Ahli Benghazi in a match played in Aba.
Austin Oladapo put the People’s Elephants ahead in the 10th-minute but the Benghazi hit back eight minutes later through Ahmed Abd’Allah Imhamed’s spot kick.
Victor Mbaoma restored visitors lead with what proved to be the winner in the 43rd-minute and Enyimba held on to claim all three points.
In another fixture, Orlando Pirates played to a goalless draw against Algeria’s ES Sétif at the Accra Sports Stadium.
The Buccaneers were under pressure following the start of the match but they were able to contain the pressure in second stanza with Fortune Makaringe and Thulani Hlatshwayo guilty of missing chances.
Mohammed Amoure piled pressure on the Sea Robbers inside the last 12 minutes with a smart attempt from close-range, but he was denied by Richard Ofori.
That was the last action of the contest, as both sides could only return with a point apiece from their Ghana voyage.
In Group C, record three-time winners CS Sfaxien fought for a narrow 1-0 victory at home over Burkina Faso giants Salitas in a match played at Stade Taib Mhiri.
Aymen Harzi scored the lone from the penalty spot, as the Tunisian giants started their campaign with maximum points.
Their arch-rivals and two-time champions Etoile du Sahel defeated Jaraaf 2-0 to leave the two North African clubs level on three points in Group C.
In Group D, Egyptian side Pyramids FC started the campaign in style as they claimed an easy 3-0 win over Zambian side Nkana FC at Cairo’s Air Defence Stadium.
Striker Mahmoud Wadi opened the scoring in the second minute and winger Eslam Eissa doubled the lead seven minutes later, as Substitute winger Mohamed Farouk completed the rout with an injury-time goal.
Morocco’s Roja Casablanca are the second in group standings after registering a 1-0 win over Tanzanian side Namungo FC.
Soufiane Rahimi, who emerged 2021 CHAN top scorer, netted what proved to be the game’s lone goal after 55 minutes from the spot.
