Bendel Insurance Football Club of Benin defeated ASO Chlef of Algeria 4-3 in a penalty shootout to advance to the second round of the 2023/24 CAF Confederation Cup Preliminaries on Saturday, at the Salem Mabrouki Stadium in Rouïba, Algiers.
The game, however, ended 1-0 in favour of ASO Chlef (Algeria) following Souibaah Mohammed’s 41-minute stylish finishing which leveled up the tie for his side at the Salem Mabrouki Stadium.
Salem Mabrouki Stadium goal only tied the game at 1-1 on aggregate before the breathtaking shootout that ended 4-3 in favour of Bendel Insurance FC.
Insurance FC defeated the Algerian side 1-0 at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City, in the first leg of the two-legged fixtures. Imade Osarenkhoe was the hero in Benin City with a 41-minute goal.
Amas Obasogie was the hero in Algiers as he rose up to the challenge posed by ASO Chlef with his impressive and heroic performance which stood him out as the man of the match.
Amas’ penalty saves and game management quality during the match gave Insurance the edge over the tactically sound ASO Chlef.
The center referee had punished Sunday Anyanwu with a spot kick awarded ASO Chlef for a hard tackle on Souibaah Mohammed in the 31 minutes of the game but Amas Obasogie saved the spot kick to silence ASO Chlef fans in the 32 minutes of the game.
The Benin Arsenals’ stand-in captain saved two shots during the shootout to help his side triumph over ASO Chlef to qualify for the second round of the CAF competition.
Bendel Insurance FC are scheduled to face RS Berkane of (Morocco) in the second Round for a place in the group stage. RS Berkane have been on standby, waiting for winners between Insurance FC and ASO Chlef.
In a post-match interview, the head coach and Technical Director of Bendel Insurance FC, Monday Odigie, happy his side won, said football is a game of taking chances. He described his opponents as a tactically disciplined team who play quality football.
“ASO Chlef is a very good team; tactically disciplined. They took their chances and scored in the first half but we were about to take control of the second half. I thank God we won.” he said.
