Sunday also saw the country’s remaining side in the Confederations Cup qualifying series Kwara United, also securing a victory in the first leg of their second qualifying stage.
Nigerian champions hold their own in front of the home crowd
In Port Harcourt, Rivers United had to come back from a goal down to secure a 2-1 win before their second leg in Morocco next weekend.
Defending champion Wydad Casablanca opened the scoring just two minutes after half an hour after a goal from Junior Bouly Sambou.
However, the lead lasted just three minutes as Malachi Ohawuma restored parity for Pride of Rivers to the excitement of home fans at Adokiye Amasasiamaka Stadium.
The Nigerian champions went into the second half even stronger and scored the winner in the 53rd minute through Paul Acquah, ensuring they headed to Casablanca on the front foot.
Ilechukwu Plateau United make their first dive
In Abuja, Plateau United made sure to defeat four-time Champions League winners Esperance after trailing early in the game.
An Anice Badri goal in the 28th minute seemed to give the Tunisians control of the game, but Fidelis Ilechukwu’s men responded before things got out of hand.
First, Emmanuel Ucheagu responded with an equalizer seven minutes after Esperance’s opening goal, then, in the first minute of added time in the first half, Mustapha Yuga put the Jos club ahead.
The second half passed without further goals, and Plateau maintained their narrow lead, a lead they hope to consolidate when they head to Tunisia next weekend.
Kwara United with one foot in the next round
In Lagos, Kwara United recorded the most comfortable victory of the day, scoring three times late in the second half to overcome defending CAF Confederations Cup champions RS Berkane.
However, it did not start brilliantly for Kwara United at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, as they conceded a goal in the 7th minute through a Djibril Outtara strike.
The Harmony continued to chase the game for the entirety of the first half, doing what they could to avoid going down by two at home.
Things, however, took a turn in the second when Kwara United responded with an Ahmed Taofeek equalizer with just 16 minutes remaining. In the next 14 minutes, Wasiu Jimoh and Barnabas Daniel scored to put the game out of Berkane’s reach and make next weekend’s second leg an even more difficult task.
