Congolese club AS Vita Club made a late charge in their CAF Champions League Group A opener on Saturday but it was too little too late in a 2-1 road victory for Petro de Luanda that saw the Angolan champions dominate most of the match. Talismanic striker Tiago Azulão opened the scoring and then set up Petro’s second goal before a late finish from Erick Kabwe gave VClub a consolation goal. Petro bounce back from a disappointing home draw against JS Kabylie to become co-leaders with the Algerian club on four points while VClub and reigning African champions Wydad AC have yet to earn a point.
Petro came right out and asserted their authority on their Congolese hosts who opted to hold their home fixtures in Brazzaville in neighboring Republic of Congo. Os Tricolores winger Anderson Cruz rattled the crossbar inside two minutes to give VClub goalkeeper Farid Ouédraogo an indication of what was to come. Ouédraogo was picking the ball out of his net thirty minutes later when Jaredi’s precise cross picked out Azulão for a bouncing header past the Burkinabè shot stopper.
If it wasn’t for the efforts of the VClub goalkeeper Petro could have sealed three points by halftime. Ouédraogo came up huge to deny a clear look for Petro forward Gilberto in the 36th minute before Azulão’s sliding finish went just wide in the 43rd minute from an excellent cross by left back Francisco.
The onslaught of chances continued after halftime for Petro and they doubled their lead in the 65th minute. Cruz collected a poor clearance on the left wing and played an exquisite combination with Azulão, whose sumptuous backheel opened up room for Cruz to fire past Ouédraogo.
VClub finally began to create chances of their own in the final half hour and made the match interesting when substitute Kabwe swooped in to head home in the 82nd minute after Petro goalkeeper Hugo Marques tipped Marouf Tchakei’s fierce shot from a free kick onto the post. The late charge continued for the hosts but Petro were able to stay organized and prevented VClub from creating a look to equalize.
Highlights are below.
