El-Kanemi Warriors made an unpleasant return to continental football after 31 years by playing a 1-1 draw against Dadje FC of Benin Republic in their first leg first round CAF Confederation Cup preliminary game in Ikenne on Saturday.
A stoppage time header by second-half substitute Gimba Ajiji rescued the result for the Federation Cup winners, who had trailed their visitors since the 22nd minute of the game, with Selasie Bakia putting Dadje in front.
The Maiduguri side had to adopt the Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne as their home ground for this round of the competition after their stadium in Maiduguri didn’t meet CAF requirements to host the competition.
El-Kanemi also showed signs of adaptation to their new turf as coach Aliyu Zubairu lined up some of the players from the Federation Cup-winning team and a few additions, but were stunned early in the game by their visitors.
Zubairu’s team kept pushing, and their relentlessness paid off in stoppage time, with Ajiji scoring the equaliser that was also the last action of the game.
The result leaves El-Kanemi with a mountain to climb in the second leg in Benin Republic next week, with the fixture delicately poised, no thanks to the away goal advantage of their opponents.
Abiodun Adewale
Abiodun, who reports Sports for PUNCH, covers different tiers of the Nigerian football league, the national teams, as well as cricket, in the last six years
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