Rivers United suffered another painful setback in their CAF Champions League campaign, falling 2–1 to RS Berkane after a dramatic stoppage-time collapse on Friday in Uyo.

Fresh off last weekend’s defeat to Pyramids, the Pride of Rivers took the lead when Mamadou Camara turned the ball into his own net. But with the game seemingly in their grasp, the visitors struck twice deep into added time to leave the Nigerian side winless after two group matches.

Head coach Finidi George made changes from the loss in Cairo, handing starts to Timothy Zachariah and Emmanuel Nnaji in place of Boluwaji Sholumade and Taofeeq Otaniyi.

Rivers United began brightly at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, dictating the early tempo. Timothy and Friday Ubong were lively on the flanks, but clear-cut chances remained scarce. Timothy thought he had opened the scoring midway through the first half, only for his header to be ruled out for offside. Minutes later, Friday fired narrowly wide from distance.

The breakthrough eventually arrived in the 37th minute when Camara diverted the ball into his own net, giving Rivers United a deserved advantage and forcing Berkane into a more adventurous approach. The hosts held on to the lead until the break.

After halftime, Rivers United adopted a more cautious stance but still created opportunities. Substitute Taofeeq Otaniyi came close to doubling the tally, only to be denied by goalkeeper Monir El Kajoui.

Just when the home fans thought the victory was sealed, disaster struck. El Kaabi Youness equalised seven minutes into stoppage time, and before Rivers could recover, Mounir Chouiar fired home the winner two minutes later.

The defeat leaves Rivers United without a point after two matches in Africa’s premier club competition.

The 2025–26 CAF Champions League will pause for AFCON duties and resume in January, when Rivers United travel to Zambia to face Power Dynamos on Matchday Three.