Prime News Ghana

CAF Confederations Cup:As Vita Club edge out Al Masry as Raja see off Enyimba

By Michael Duah
 CAF Confederation Cup
CAF Confederations Cup:As Vita Club edge out Al Masry as Raja see off Enyimba
Shares
facebook sharing button Share
twitter sharing button Tweet
email sharing button Email
sharethis sharing button Share

Raja Casablanca of Morocco on Wednesday, October 24, 2018, defeated Enyimba FC of Nigeria to reach the CAF Confederation Cup final.

Raja won the match 2-1 at the 60,000-seat Stade Mohammed V in Morocco.

Enyimba fell 1-0 at home to Raja in a semi-final first leg won by an Abdelilah Hafidi goal for a 3-1 aggregate.

In Casablanca, Enyimba centre-back Oladuntoye Isiaka gifted the opening goal of the second leg to Raja in first-half stoppage time and conceded a late own goal.

The Nigerian tamely gave possession to Zakaria Hadraf, wearing a mask to protect a pre-match facial injury, and the Moroccan rounded goalkeeper Theophilus Afelokhai to score.

As an uneventful second half limped to full-time, Isiaka allowed a cross slide off his boot into the net on 88 minutes to give Raja a 2-0 second-leg advantage.

Enyimba pulled one goal back almost immediately as substitute Abdulrahman Bashir rifled the ball past goalkeeper Anas Zniti.

It was the first goal conceded at home in the Confederation Cup by the Raja shot-stopper for 550 minutes.

Enyimba were left to rue several wasted first-half chances, notably when Chinedu Udeagha fired straight at Zniti from close range.

Raja will play in the Cup final against V Club of the Democratic Republic of Congo who mauled Al Masry of Egypt, 4-0.

Raja ranks among the most successful clubs in Africa, winning five CAF competitions, including the Champions League three times.

But it is 15 years since they lifted an African trophy, beating Coton Sport of Cameroon 2-0 on aggregate in the last final of the now-defunct CAF Cup.

Boasting a squad littered with Moroccan internationals, they have been favourites to win the Confederation Cup this year since surviving a qualifying round scare from Nouadhibou.

Elsewhere in Kinshasa, Al Masry have been eliminated from the competition following a heavy loss to DR Congo’s AS Vita Club.

Both sides drew 0-0 in Port-Said, which meant that Al Masry needed to win by any score or at least draw 1-1 to qualify for the final of the competition.

However six minutes into the game, Emomo Eddy Ngoyi opened the scoring for the hosts, converting a corner with a header.

Ahmed Gomaa had the chance to score the equalizer in the 16th minute, but his shot was well saved by the AS Vita goalkeeper.

Al Masry thought they had equalized through Mohamed Koffi, but the goal was ruled out for offside before Emomo Ngoyi scored his side’s second of the game with a powerful shot in the 32nd minute.

The Port-Said based club continued to miss a handful of opportunities through Griendo, Islam Issa, and Ahmed Gomaa, but they failed to convert their chances.

The hosts severely punished them with two late goals through former Wadi Degla forward Jean-Marc Makusu and Mukoko Batezadio in the 75th and 94th minutes.

Vita will now face Moroccan side Raja Club Athletic in final after they overcame Nigerian club Enyimba 3-1 on aggregate.

Read also:2018 CAF Champions League:Al Ahly and Esperance advance to finals

Latest sports news in Ghana