Etoile Sahel poised to end CAF Cup campaign of Mokawloon

Mokawloon crushed a Djibouti club captained by former Arsenal and Barcelona star Alex Song 9-1 at home in the preliminary round last month.

But the three-time CAF title winners found Tunisian visitors Etoile Sahel unyielding opponents and after a dour 0-0 draw the Cairo outfit find themselves on the back foot going into the last 32 second leg. 

Here, AFP Sport highlights five of the return matches that will decide which clubs go forward to playoffs against CAF Champions League last 32 losers with group places on the line.

Etoile v Mokawloon

Etoile are the only club to have won all five CAF competitions, lifting the Champions League once and the Confederation Cup, Super Cup, African Cup Winners Cup and CAF Cup twice each.

The last triumph came in the 2015 Confederation Cup as they edged Orlando Pirates of South Africa 2-1 on aggregate by winning the second leg at home through an Ammar Jemal goal.

Sahel appear to be among the strongest contenders this season and it is difficult to imagine Mokawloon surviving a visit to Mediterranean resort Sousse.   

Obeid v Namungo

African debutants Namungo bring a 2-0 lead to Al Hilal Obeid of Sudan as they seek to become only the second Tanzanian club after Young Africans to reach the group stage.

Stephen Sey scored in the first leg, adding to a brace he bagged in a preliminary round victory over Al Rabita of South Sudan.

Obeid regressed from quarter-finalists to first round losers in three consecutive Confederation Cup appearances from 2017. 

Kampala v Kigali

Kampala Capital City Authority of Uganda are trailing AS Kigali of Rwanda 2-0 even though the first leg was not played.

Since the coronavirus pandemic spread to Africa, CAF ruled that clubs must have at least 15 fit players to fulfil an international fixture and Kampala had only 13 in Rwanda. 

This situation led to the first leg being cancelled and Kigali awarded a 2-0 victory, leaving Kampala with a tough task if they hope to reach the group stage for a second time in five seasons.

Songo v Napsa

Zambian clubs usually succeed when they meet Mozambican opponents in CAF competitions so it was a surprise when Napsa Stars could only draw 0-0 when they hosted UD Songo. 

African debutants Napsa began with a bang, scoring nine goals over two legs against Ngazi Club from the Comoros in a preliminary tie.  

But sharpshooters like Emmanuel Mayuka and Danny Silavwe fired blanks against Songo, leaving the Zambian outfit facing an uphill task when the clubs clash again.

Rivers v Celtic

Bloemfontein Celtic of South Africa may appear no-hopers after losing 2-0 at home to Rivers United of Nigeria, but coach John Maduka draws comfort from what occurred in the previous round.

"We also lost by two goals at home to a club from the Democratic Republic of Congo, but had earlier won by two goals on the road and qualified via a penalty shootout.

"If we can win by two goals in DR Congo, there is no reason why we cannot repeat that feat in Nigeria," added the former Malawi star.