Several superb saves by the 33-year-old goalkeeper kept Chiefs level until defender Eric Mathoho scored the only goal of the preliminary round first leg six minutes from time.

PWD had to play there debut in the Champions League away from home in Limbe partly due to security concerns but mainly because the facilities at their own ground do not meet the competition's requirements.

There was also a narrow 1-0 away win for former back-to-back champions Enyimba of Nigeria over Rahimo of Burkina Faso, thanks to a headed goal from Victor Mbaoma with 14 minutes remaining.

The teams met at the same stage last season with Rahimo winning 1-0 at home before suffering a 5-0 away drubbing in their first Champions League appearance.

Plateau United, the other Nigerian challengers, surprisingly lost 1-0 at home in Jos to Simba of Tanzania with Zambian Clatous Chama scoring on 54 minutes.

Al Hilal of Sudan celebrated participating in the Champions League a record 34th time by winning 1-0 away to Vipers of Uganda in Entebbe.

Waleed Bakhet scored the only goal after 25 minutes and the 1982 and 1987 will be favourites to advance after the return match in Omdurman this weekend.

Hilal first competed in the premier CAF club competition in 1966 and have played in every edition since 2004, reaching the semi-finals four times.

Firas Chaouat was the star of the first legs, scoring a hat-trick as CS Sfaxien of Tunisia trounced Mlandege of Zanzibar 5-0 on the Indian Ocean island off the coast of Tanzania.

Nigerian Kingsley Eduwo and Hani Amamou gave four-time CAF title winners Sfaxien a two-goal half-time advantage before Chaouat wreaked havoc with a treble.

The second legs of the preliminary round are set for the 4-6 December.

Champions League preliminary round first leg results:

• Armed Forces (Gambia) 1-1 Teungueth (Senegal)
• Racing Club Abidjan (Ivory Coast) 1-0 ASKO Kara (Togo)
• AS Sonidep (Niger) 2-0 Mogadishu City Club (Somalia)
• Forest Rangers (Zambia) 0-0 AS Bouenguidi (Gabon)
• Jwaneng Galaxy (Botswana) 4-0 US Zilimadjou (Comoros)
• Young Buffaloes (Eswatini) 0-0 Le Messager Ngozi (Burundi)
• PWD Bamenda (Cameroon) 0-1 Kaizer Chiefs (South Africa)
• AS Otoho (Congo) 1-1 Al Merrikh (Sudan)
• Rahimo (Burundi) 0-1 Enyimba (Nigeria)
• Nouadhibou (Mauritania) 1-1 Asante Kotoko (Ghana)
• Vipers (Uganda) 0-1 Al Hilal (Sudan)
• Buffles (Benin) 1-1 Mouloudia Alger (Algeria)
• Mlandege (Zanzibar) 0-5 CS Sfaxien (Tunisia)
• Bantu (Lesotho) 0-1 Nkana (Zambia)
• Akonangui (Equatorial Guinea) 0-1 Petro Luanda (Angola)
• Costa do Sol (Mozambique) 1-2 Platinum (Zimbabwe)
• Plateau Utd (Nigeria) 0-1 Simba (Tanzania)
• CR Belouizdad (Algeria) 2-0 Al Nasr (Libya)
• APR (Rwanda) 2-1 Gor Mahia (Kenya)
• AngloGold (Guinea) 1-2 Stade Malien (Mali)
• Walkovers: Al Ahly Benghazi (Libya), Gazelle (Chad)