African rookies Aduana snatch dramatic CAF Cup draw

Mahmoud Benhalib twice and Lema Mabidi put Raja in front only for Aduana to level through goals from Oba Ikama, Caleb Amankwah and Nathaniel Asamoah.

Asamoah scored on 95 minutes to earn Stars a first point in Group A after they fell 1-0 away to ASEC Mimosas of the Ivory Coast in the opening series of mini-league matches.

Aduana against Raja appeared a mismatch on paper with the Ghanaians playing African group-phase football for the first time while regular campaigners Raja have won five CAF titles.

In the same group, V Club of the Democratic Republic of Congo recovered from conceding an early goal to beat ASEC 3-1 in Kinshasa and take ownership of top place.

Gbagnon Badie converted a 19th-minute penalty for the Abidjan outfit and they retained the lead until half-time.

But V Club were a transformed team in the second half with Emmanuel Ngudikama scoring twice before a Glody Muzinga goal put the outcome beyond doubt.

The match pitted former African champions against each other with V Club triumphant in 1973 and ASEC in 1998.

It was a great day for Congolese clubs with CARA from neighbouring Congo Brazzaville scoring three goals in five minutes to whip Enyimba of Nigeria 3-0 in Group C.

Racine Louamba triggered the goal blitz with a 14th-minute opener and Cabwey Kivutuka and Dicha Liema were the others scorers.

CARA are a formidable force in Brazzaville with this surprisingly easy victory their fourth in a row in the second-tier African club competition this season.

This match was another between former African champions with CARA winning in 1974 and Enyimba in 2003 and 2004, making them one of only three clubs to successfully defend the title.

Ayoub el Kaabi confirmed his status as one of the best goal poachers in Africa by scoring twice to earn Renaissance Berkane of Morocco a 2-0 Group C win away to UD Songo of Mozambique.

He scored a record nine goals this year in helping hosts Morocco win the African Nations Championship and has now claimed six goals in the Confederation Cup.

El Kaabi broke the deadlock on 64 minutes in Indian Ocean port city Beira and added a second goal one minute from time.

It was the second successive victory for Berkane and the second straight loss for fellow group-phase newcomers Songo.

Another four fixtures are scheduled for later Wednesday, including resurgent Gor Mahia of Kenya against experienced African campaigners USM Alger of Algeria in Nairobi.