Rivers United suffered a heavy 3-0 defeat to defending champions Pyramids FC of Egypt in their CAF Champions League Group Stage matchday one clash on Saturday night in Cairo.
Egyptian forward Ahmed Atef was the star of the evening, scoring a remarkable hat-trick to hand the Egyptian giants a convincing victory.
Rivers United held firm in the first half, showing strong defensive discipline and limiting Pyramids FC to only a few half-chances. However, their resistance was broken shortly after the restart.
Atef opened the scoring in the 52nd minute, finishing off a swift team move. The striker doubled the lead just five minutes later, capitalizing on a defensive lapse to make it 2-0. He completed his hat-trick in the 72nd minute, effectively sealing the result.
Finidi George’s men struggled to recover from the early second-half setback and failed to create clear-cut scoring chances against the well-structured Egyptian side.
Rivers United will now shift focus to their next fixture, where they host RS Berkane of Morocco in Uyo next Friday, hoping to bounce back and revive their qualification hopes.
