Shooting Stars have been eliminated from the CAF Confederation Cup after CS Sfaxien overturned a first-leg deficit to win 2-0 in Tunisia on Sunday.
Iyed Belwafi scored both goals in Sfax as the hosts secured a 2-1 aggregate victory in the first preliminary round and advanced to the second preliminary round.
CS Sfaxien began the second leg trailing 1-0 from the opening meeting in Nigeria, but Belwafi levelled the tie four minutes before the half-hour mark.
The striker’s goal gave the Tunisian club the lead on the night and restored parity in the contest overall.
Belwafi struck again in the 67th minute, doubling CS Sfaxien’s advantage and putting the home side firmly in control of the tie.
Shooting Stars tried to respond and worked to regain a foothold in the match, but they could not breach the CS Sfaxien defence before the final whistle.
The result ends the Nigerian club’s involvement in this season’s CAF Confederation Cup at the first preliminary-round stage.
Nigeria will still have representation in the competition after El-Kanemi Warriors also progressed to the next round.
El-Kanemi Warriors secured a 3-1 aggregate victory over Guinea-Bissau club UDIB to reach the second preliminary round.
Their reward is a tie against Moroccan giants Raja Casablanca, with a place in the CAF Confederation Cup group stage at stake.
By Adeboye Amosu