
The hopes of Nigeria’s representative to advance into the knockout stage of the competition suffered a blow following their loss in Libya yesterday.
Enyimba suffered a 1-0 defeat to Al-Ahly Benghazi in Thursday’s Caf Confederation Cup Group A game at Martyrs of February Stadium.
Muttasem El Taib scored the goal that made the difference in the encounter as the Butchers edged closer to qualifying for the next round of the competition.
Enyimba started the group stage of the tournament with a victory over Al-Ahly in Aba, before losing to Orlando Pirates.
They bounced back to winning ways against ES Setif on their home soil but suffered a defeat in the reverse fixture against the same opponents.
The Nigeria representative started the game impressively and came close to opening the scoring in the 32nd minute through Omoyele, but the forward missed his effort.
Enyimba continued to push for a possible equalizing goal after the restart of the second half but Al-Ahly Benghazi held on to their lead, frustrating the effort of the Nigerians side.
The Peoples’ Elephant suffered a further blow when they were reduced to 10 men with 15 minutes left to play after Danladi was shown a straight red card for serious foul play.
The defeat ensured Enyimba dropped to the third spot on the Group A table with six points from five games while Al-Ahly climbed to the second spot with seven points and Orlando Pirates are top of the group.
Enyimba must now win their last group game against Orlando Pirates on April 28 to boost their chances of reaching the next stage of the continental tournament.