Ghanaian midfielder, Paul Acquah, struck a hattrick as Nigerian champions, Rivers United, defeated Congolese side, Club Motema Pembe 3-1 in their fourth Group B game of this year’s CAF Confederation Cup at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Akwa Ibom, on Thursday afternoon. 

The encounter was initially scheduled for yesterday but was called off only a few hours to kick off due to some logistics issues, forcing CAF officials to reschedule for today as the Pride of Rivers secured a comfortable home win.

Motema Pembe were pegged back in the early minutes of the encounter but Rivers United lacked the cutting edge to make their attempts count until the last minutes of the first half.

With only a few seconds before the half-time whistle, Acquah headed Ukeme Williams’s cross from a freekick to finally break the deadlock for Rivers United and put the reigning Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) ahead. 

Then 11 minutes into the second half, the Ghanaian midfielder doubled the lead for Rivers United as he acrobatically fired Emmanuel Ampiah’s left-footed cross into the net before substitute Kingu Yallet pulled one back for the visitors through a header in the 78th minute.

Afterwards, Rivers United managed to survive a late scare from the Congolese club until Acquah curled Emmanuel Macy’s assist from a counterattack into the back of the net to complete his hattrick, securing the much-needed points for the home side. 

Rivers United now comfortably sit top of the Group B standings with nine points from a possible 12, followed by Ivorian giants, ASEC Mimosas, who have seven points, while the two Congolese clubs in the group, Diables Noirs and Club Motema Pembe, are third and fourth in the with four and two points,  respectively.