CAF Conf. Cup: Nasarawa edge AS Academie of Senegal

Nasarawa United Football Club of Lafia on Sunday defeated visiting AS Academie Generation Foot of Senegal 2-1 in a 2016 CAF Confederation Cup first round first leg match.

The match played at the main bowl at the National Stadium in Abuja, Nasarawa United FC had an early start.

They started on a fast note by dictating the pace, and Tayo Fabiyi soon put them in the lead with the opened goal six minutes into the game.

But they soon lost steam, allowing the visitors to push them back and dominate the game.

However, in spite of being on the back foot many times, the hosts still had the chance to increase their lead.

Abdulraham Bashir wasted what looked their best chance just after the half hour mark, when he bundled over the bar a through pass, with the goalkeeper at his mercy.

But the visitors turned the game on its head two minutes aftr the resumption of second half, when Ibrahim Niane pushed the ball past goalkeeper Danladi Umar to equalise.

The Senegalese Cup champions then held sway as they sought to take the game, pushing forward with deep probing runs which kept the Nigerian side defence in disarray.

With goalkeeper Umar unsteady and his defenceline unsure of which foot was the right to use, Generation Foot looked the likely side to return home with a win.

But an unlikely break came Nasarawa United FC way three minutes to the end when an handball infringement earned them a penalty kick.

Seun Sogbeso steadied his nerves to score from the penalty spot to give them a crucial lead into the second leg on Feb. 27.

The match will hold at the Stade Demba Diop in Dakar, Senegal.

Nasarawa United had played in the CAF Confederation Cup in 2007 after crashing out of the more lucrative CAF Champions League.