The celebrations have continued for Rangers International following their dramatic CAF Champions League qualification, with General Manager Amobi Ezeaku rewarding the players and staff with $10,000 after their penalty-shootout triumph over AS Sobemap.
READ ALSO: Rangers Survive Lomé Shootout Drama, Dump AS Sobemap Out of CAF Champions League
The Flying Antelopes survived a tense evening at the Stade de Kégué in Lomé, Togo, on Friday, defeating the Benin Republic champions 5-4 on penalties after another 1-1 draw left the first preliminary-round tie level at 2-2 on aggregate.
Rangers went ahead in the 21st minute before Sobemap responded in the 65th minute, ultimately forcing the contest into the decisive shootout, where the Nigerian champions held their nerve.
The victory prompted an immediate show of appreciation from Ezeaku, with the Rangers GM gifting the playing and backroom staff $10,000 for completing the difficult assignment and securing passage to the second preliminary round.
The reward comes after Ezeaku had made Rangers’ continental ambitions clear even before the opening leg, insisting that the Enugu club wanted to advance and make a serious impact in the competition.
“We have our eyes on the Champions League and we are not losing focus,” Ezeaku said ahead of the tie.
That focus was severely tested by Sobemap.
After being held 1-1 in Abeokuta in the opening encounter, Rangers travelled to Lomé knowing there was virtually no margin for error. A second successive draw meant penalties were required, but the Flying Antelopes delivered when the pressure was at its highest.
The $10,000 reward can therefore serve as both recognition for overcoming Sobemap and motivation ahead of what promises to be an even more demanding second-round assignment.
And Rangers already know the two teams standing between them and a place in the CAF Champions League group stage.
They will meet the winner of the tie between Algerian heavyweights MC Alger and Niger Republic’s ASN Nigelec.
The first leg produced a surprise 0-0 draw in Niamey, with Nigelec successfully frustrating one of the higher-ranked clubs in this season’s competition.
The return leg is scheduled for Algeria on Saturday, meaning Rangers will soon discover their next opponent.
Should MC Alger progress, Rangers will face a considerable step up in opposition. CAF placed the Algerian club among the competition’s Level 2/highest-ranked entrants for the preliminary-round draw, underlining the scale of the potential challenge awaiting the Nigerian champions.
CAF’s draw officially confirms that the Rangers-Sobemap winner will face the winner between Nigelec and MC Alger in the second preliminary round. The first legs are scheduled for October 16–18, with the return matches between October 23–25.
There is an enormous prize beyond that hurdle: the winners of the second preliminary-round ties qualify for the 16-team CAF Champions League group stage, while this season’s eventual African champions will collect a record $6 million.
For now, however, Rangers can celebrate.
They left Lomé with qualification secured, returned $10,000 richer as a squad — and now wait to discover whether Algerian giants MC Alger will be the next obstacle standing between them and the Champions League group stage.
