Substitute Victor Mbaoma scored the only goal of the game as Enyimba defeated Rahimo in Burkina Faso on Sunday to take control of the preliminary qualifier.

Mbaoma, who scored four goals as Enyimba reached the quarterfinals of the Confederation Cup last season, scored what proved to be the winner in the 63rd minute after coming off the bench in the second half.

The result leaves Fatai Osho’s side firmly in the driving seat ahead of the return leg in Aba next week.

Both sides met at this exact same stage in last season’s competition with Rahimo earning a 1-0 before losing 5-0 in Aba.

The lessons from that defeat were clearly not lost on the two-time African champions, as they turned the tables on their hosts a year on to claim the victory.

Enyimba’s win was the only victory recorded by Nigerian sides on the continent this weekend with Plateau United falling to a shock defeat at home to Tanzanian side Simba in their Champions League preliminary round first leg.

On Saturday, Kano Pillars and Rivers United suffered losses at Senegalese side ASC Jaraaf and Futuro Kings of Equatorial Guinea respectively in the first leg of their Confederation Cup preliminary round.