A tale of missed opportunities- Nigeria’s sole representatives River United get dumped out by USM Algers

Nigeria’s sole candidate on the continent Rivers United have been knocked out of the CAF Confederations Cup following a 2-0 loss to USM Algiers on Sunday, Soccernet.ng reports.

Rivers United traveled to the Stade Omar to take on USM Algiers in the second leg of their CAF Confederations Cup quarterfinal clash. The first leg ended 1-0 in Nigeria thanks to a superb strike from Augustine Okejepha. The goal could have easily been much bigger, but Rivers United were very profligate in front of goal. They recorded 30 goal attempts, but just seven were on target and only one resulted in a goal.

The second leg was always going to be tough for the Pride of Rivers because of USM Algers’ home advantage and North African teams’ dominance on the continent.

The Algerian giants dominated the first half, and they took the lead in the fist half via a strike from Abdoulaye Kanou. In the second half, USM Algiers continued with their brilliant play, and Kanou eventually scored the second for the Algerians in the 74th minute. After going down by two goals, Rivers United tried to spark a comeback, but they could not muster a goal and had to settle for the 2-0 loss and 2-1 aggregate defeat which knocked them out of the competition.

Following Rivers United loss, Nigeria no longer have a representative on the continent.