Zanaco Remain Winless After Porto Novo Stalemate

Zambian side Zanaco and Benin’s ESAE remained winless after the third round of the Total CAF Confederation Cup, after the two sides fired blanks in Porto Novo on Sunday in a Group B clash.

ESAE picked their first point of the competition while Zanaco ended up with a third consecutive draw to move to three points.

It was a case of missed chances for both sides especially the visitors who created many scoring opportunities, but seemed not to have carried their scoring boots.

In the second minute, they had a brilliant opportunity when Guily Manziba broke into the box from the left but his attempt at chipping the ball over the keeper didn’t achieve the desired result, as he put too much strength on the ball to float it over the bar.

ESAE’s first sniff at goal was in the 14th minute when Emmanuel Onyekweni found some shooting space on the right but his effort flew straight to the keeper’s arms.

Zanaco continued dominating possession and the chances, but again, their finishing didn’t match the enthusiasm of keeping the ball. In the 34th minute, Jimmy Nakena broke through on the right with a clear sight of goal, but his final shot was wild and over.

In the last minute of the seven added on to the end of the first half, Zanaco had a golden chance when Mousa Souleymanou was through on goal, but he took too much time to pull the trigger with Erick Akpologan rushing back to make a brilliant tackle and poke the ball off for a corner.

In the second half, ESAE improved their attacking front and began to push the visitors more into their own half. On the hour mark, they had a golden opportunity when Alfred Linkpon was sent through on goal with only the keeper to beat, but his shot was poor, kept out by the custodian’s trailing leg.

At the death, the Confederation Cup debutants should have picked their first win of the competition when the lanky Minhouenou Kokpon broke into the box on the left, but once again, he couldn’t finish, his poor effort skipping past the keeper but not enough strength behind it to cross the line, the defence clearing.