Nigeria’s sole representative in CAF inter-club competitions Rivers United are on the verge of crashing out of the CAF Confederation Cup after their 2-0 home loss to Tanzania’s Young Africans on Sunday at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium. 

After a cagey first half performance from both sides and a second half that started the same way, the game sprung to life when Congolese striker Fiston Kalala Mayele grabbed the opener for the visitors in the 73rd minute throwing the Nigeria Professional Football League champions off balance.

While they went in search of the equaliser, Young Africans struck again in the 81st minute with Fiston Kalala Mayele completing his brace as the visitor take a comfortable two goals lead heading into the second leg billed for Sunday April 30 at the Tanzania National Main Stadium.

Reacting to the loss, Rivers United coach, Stanley Eguma said it was just a bad day at the office but the tie is not yet over as there’s still a leg left in Dar es Salam.

“It was a bad day for us, we started well, we had a lot of scoring chances in the first half but my players couldn’t convert them,” Eguma told the press after the loss.

“We had the upper hand until the opponents scored due to a defensive mistake. The goal motivated them and they came out to play. Their second goal was against the run of play because there was an opportunity for us to score but my players lost their bearing when the corner kick was taken. 

“We have to go back to the drawing board, work on our mistakes, get our acts together. The tie is not yet over we’ll bounce back in the next game.”