At the MKO Abiola National Stadium in Abuja on Wednesday, Plateau United defeated their Libyan adversary Al Akhdar 4-1 in the first leg of the second preliminary round of the CAF Confederation Cup.
Esperance controversially eliminated the Nigerian team from the CAF Champions League in the second preliminary round of the league, demoting them to the CAF Confederation Cup playoff.
Esperance won the doubleheader 2-2, but because of the tournament's away-goal rule, they advanced to the group round.
The 27th and 40th-minute goals from Mustapha Yuga and Ifeanyi Emmanuel were sufficient for Plateau United to win the first half 2-0.
Neither of the two sides could find the back of the net in the second half of the encounter until the 75th minute when Albert Hilary extended Plateau United but the visitors pulled one back ten minutes later.
Moments later, Albert Hilary hit his brace of the evening to seal an impressive 4-1 victory for Plateau United going into the second leg of the fixture.
The overall winner of the two-legged fixture will progress to the group stage of the CAF Confederation Cup. Plateau United will lock horns with Al Akhdar in the second leg of the encounter next week on Wednesday, November 9, 2022, in Libya.