Malians punish goalkeeper errors to top Caf Champions League group

Group stage debutants Stade Malien of Mali stretched an unbeaten Caf Champions League run this season to seven matches by defeating Petro Luanda of Angola 2-0 in Bamako on Sunday.

Cameroonian Taddeus Nkeng put the home team ahead on 54 minutes, and captain Mamadou Traore netted five minutes later in the group D match.

It was the fifth goal for Nkeng in Africa this season, giving him a share of first place in the Golden Boot race with Brazilian Tiago Reis of Petro and Mahmoud Trezeguet from Egyptian giants Al Ahly.

Both goals stemmed from careless clearances by Angolan goalkeeper Hugo Marques, who celebrated his 40th birthday this month.

Victory lifted Stade to first place in the mini-league with seven points, two more than four-time champions Esperance of Tunisia. Petro have four points and Simba of Tanzania have none.

The Bamako club eliminated Tempete Mocaf from the Central African Republic and Nouadhibou of Mauritania in qualifiers to reach the group stage for the first time after 19 failed attempts.

LUPOPO SECURE LATE WIN

In group C, Michael Kimputu converted a 95th-minute penalty to give Saint-Eloi Lupopo from the Democratic Republic of Congo a dramatic 1-0 win over Mouloudia Alger of Algeria in Lubumbashi.

Kimputu placed his kick into the left corner of the net while Algeria goalkeeper Alexis Guendouz dived in the opposite direction.

The spot-kick was awarded after substitute Enock Molia was fouled by Mouloudia captain and centre-back Ayoub Ghezala.

After a loss and a draw in earlier group matches, victory moved Lupopo to four points, one less than leaders Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa and Al Hilal of Sudan, who drew 2-2 in Pretoria on Friday.

Mouloudia have been the dominant club in Algeria this season, leading the championship by 12 points, but are struggling in Africa with just one point from three matches.