Warri Wolves of Nigeria beat Black Leopards 3-1 in a CAF Confederation Cup match at the Warri City Stadium on Sunday.

The return-leg match will be played in South Africa in a fortnight, with the overall winners taking on a team from the Champions League Round of 16 for a place in the group stage of the Confederation Cup.

Top striker Jude Aneke, who was the NPL hotshot with 20 goals last season, was forced out of the game after just 15 minutes, following a thigh injury. Raymond Monama stunned the average crowd at the Warri City Stadium after 20 minutes when he put Black Leopards in front off a quick counterattack. However, 18-year-old striker Augustine Amutu drew the hosts level five minutes later.

Amutu, who was featuring in the lower league with Mighty Jets of Jos a few months ago, then put Wolves ahead for the first time in the game, two minutes after the break.

Former Nigeria U20 star Gift Atulewa, who replaced the injured Aneke, made it 3-1 in the 55th minute when he fired home after some good work by the exciting Amutu. Late in the match, Malawi midfielder Davi Banda failed to make hay when he came face-to-face with Wolves goalkeeper Chigozie Agbim.

Nigerian forward Joshua Obaje posted an average game for the Black Leopards. In general, Wolves stepped up the tempo of the game and played a better game in the second half, but both sides threw away a number of chances. - (Backpagetxt)