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Renacimiento stun Africa Sports

CAIRO: The tiny Spanish-speaking state of Equatorial Guinea celebrated its finest football feat Monday after Renacimiento stunned Africa Sports of Ivory Coast in the African Champions League.

International unknown MacDonald Nze snatched a last-minute goal in Abidjan to earn the visitors a 2-2 draw at the weekend and a place in the second qualifying round on the away-goal rule after a goalless first leg. Niokhor Fall converted a second-minute penalty for Renacimiento only for Africa Sports to hit back through second-half goals from Gildas Kassiaty and Victorien Bolou. It was only the third time a team from Equatorial Guinea won a Champions League tie, and the first of any significance as Africa Sports rank among the best known clubs on the continent.

While not the force of old when they won the African Cup Winners Cup twice and finished runners-up twice, the Abidjan club were expected to emerge convincing winners of the first round tie. Equatorial Guinea representatives lost 30 of 39 matches in the premier African club competition before this year and conceded 100 goals, including nine in one game. Renacimiento last year dropped a hint of better times to come when they beat Nigerian visitors Dolphin 1-0 at home in the Champions League after a heavy first-leg loss in Port Harcourt.

The surprise packets of a 25-match programme will face Stade Malien of Mali for a place in the final qualifying round of the three million dollar competition with the first leg scheduled for Bamako in mid-March. Other notable winners were Civics of Namibia and Saint George of Ethiopia while USCAFOOT of Madagascar snatched a dramatic victory over Excelsior Saint Joseph of Reunion in an Indian Ocean showdown. Civics fell 2-1 in Luanda against Sagrada Esperanca of Angola, but a four-goal lead from the first leg assured Namibia of a rare success at this level.

Held at home by ENPPI of Egypt, Saint George must have travelled to Cairo fearing the worst only to grab the lead midway through the first half via a Benjamin Asna goal that proved the match winner. Jean Freddy Rasolofomanana was the hero of Madagascar after scoring one minute from full-time to give USCAFOOT a 2-0 win and a place among the last 32 on the away-goal rule. Trailing Saint Joseph 3-1 from the initial encounter, the Malagasy club endured 53 anxious minutes before Serge Tsilavina opened the scoring and set up a tense cliamx.

Twice champions Jeunesse Sportive Kabylie of Algeria following up a draw in Libya against Al-Ittihad with a 4-0 victory in Algiers where Hamza Yacef claimed a hat-trick. But 2003 and 2004 title holders Enyimba of Nigeria had to work much harder with an 88th-minute goal from David Tyavkase giving the Peoples Elephant a 2-0 win over Gabonese visitors Mangasport. afp

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