Panthere, Cosmos crack in CAF Champions League

Two of Cameroonian top clubs involved in the Orange CAF Champions League, Panthere Of Nde and Cosmos of Bafia both suffered defeats in the hands of their opponents.

Panthere of Nde that are still to register a single victory this year under coach Emmanuel Ndoumbe Bosso, was beaten at home by visiting Rayon Sports of Rwanda 0-1 at the Douala Reunification stadium. The match was the first leg of the preliminary round of the CAF Champions League.

Speaking after the game, Ndoumbe Bosso blames the lack of realism by his players: "We played clumsily and with precipitation. We had goal chances and opportunities, but failed to finish with a goal,” laments Ndoumbe Bosso.

For his part, the coach of Rayon Sports, Sosthenes Habimana was aware of having won a battle but not complacent as they are yet to play the return leg: "The game is not finished yet. We will prepare accordingly," he reassures before he adds:" We will do everything to score goals at home. We know they will do everything to score. If we stay in our camp, it could cost us penalty kicks. It will not matter to play defensively. Panthere is a good team and it can make the difference at any time", Sosthène Habimana admits.

Meanwhile, playing away in Uganda, Cosmos of Bafia was beaten by Kampala City Council (KCC) after a late goal from Herman Wasswa at the 87th minute to sink the guys from Bafia.

Cosmos of Bafia had resisted pressure from their host after their lead striker Patrick Nai was red-carded in the 55th minute for two bookable offenses.

The visitors were frustrated by the host goalkeeper Yasin Mugabi who made two brilliant one-on-one stops in the first to deny Cosmos of Bafia the lead.

Coach Thomas Libiih of Cosmos of Bafia will need to go back to the drawing board if they are to make it to the next round when the two sides meet.

This was the first outing at the continental level for Cosmos of Bafia and they will be looking to impress at home when the two sides meet in Cameroon on the weekend of March 6-8 2015.