CAF Champions League
ZAMALEK DETHRONES ESPERANCE TO REACH CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMI FINALS
Egyptian giants Zamalek reached the CAF Champions League semifinals for the first time since 2016 despite losing to holders Esperance of Tunisia 1-0 at Rades Olympic Stadium on Friday evening.
Zamalek qualified with an aggregate 3-2 victory having won the first leg 3-1 in Cairo last weekend. They will wait to see their opponent from Morocco’s Raja and DR Congo’s TP Mazembe who lock horns in Lubumbashi on Saturday afternoon. Raja won the first leg 2-0 in Casablanca.
Billel Ben Saha scored what proved to be the game’s lone goal from the spot after five minutes, but Esperance couldn’t find their much needed second goal to surrender the title they won in the past two seasons.
Right from the kickoff Esperance looked keen to find the opener which will ease their nerves. And they had what they looked for after just five minutes.
Fedi Ben Choug found his way past two defenders and passed to Ibrahim Ouattara, whose ball was handed by Zamalek’s defender Mahmoud Alaa inside the vital area. From the spot, Billel Ben Saha sent goalkeeper Mohamed Abo Gabal to the wrong direction to give his side an early lead.
Esperance controlled possession and tried to press Zamalek who opted to defend in numbers and rely on counter attacks. There were almost no more chances till the break. Both sides went to halftime with the hosts leading 1-0.
Less than a minute after restart Hamdou Elhouni found his way past Zamalek defense and sent a cross that was stopped by Alaa in time.
Elhouni remained the hosts’ danger man, and two minutes later his shot went just wide with goalkeeper Abo Gabal relieved.
Zamalek’s nearest chance came after 63 minutes when Achraf Bencharki’s shot was stopped by Esperance’s goalkeeper Moez Ben Chrifia.
Elhouni almost found the much needed goal for the hosts after 70 minutes, when his bullet was brilliantly stopped over the goal line by Abo Gabal.
Substitute Mohamed Ben Hamouda controlled the ball inside Zamalek’s area but his shot went wide with 12 minutes remaining.
Time passed with Zamalek happy to see their opponents at bay as Zamalek found their way to the final four.
CAF
Nigeria’s sole survivor into the second round of the CAF Champions League, Enugu Rangers have crashed out of the competition. They lost 3-1 to Angola’s Sagrada Esperança this Sunday in Luanda.
The aggregate scoreline is 3-2 as Rangers last weekend won their home game 1-0. Sagrada Esperança opened the game with offensive and got their first goal barely six minutes into the game when Alexandre Fernando found the back of the net.
The hosts doubled their lead in the 33rd minute through Mussa. But four minutes later, Enugu Rangers reduced the tally to 2-1 to carry an away goal advantage into half time.
Jamie Pimpao got the much needed goal for Angola in the 67th minute to seal the hopes of Rangers.
Sagrada Esperança will now go into next month’s draw for the draw of the group stage.
CAF Champions League 2nd Preliminary Round action resumed on Saturday, 14 September following the resumption of the Africa’s premium club competition on Friday.
It was mostly the travelling teams that secured victories away from home on Saturday, who put themselves in fairly comfortable situations ahead of the return leg next week.
Orlando Pirates had a mental obstacle to overcome in Gaborone against Jwaneng Galaxy, having to face the same side that eliminated them in the same phase of the competition last season.
The former champions secured a 2-0 victory in Gaborone to put themselves in a comfortable position ahead of the return leg next weekend.
Five-time champions, TP Mazembe were away to Red Arrows in Zambia where they also put two past their hosts ahead of the return leg in Lubumbashi.
Mamelodi Sundowns, who played their away match in the comfort of their home stadium against Swaziland’s Mbabane Swallows made use of home ground advantage with a comfortable 4-0 win over their neighbours.
Tanzanian champions, Young Africans secured a hard-fought 1-0 win over CBE SA of Rwanda as Tanzanian giants continue to chase a continental title.
It was a rather tough outing for Moroccan outfit, AS FAR when they travelled to Sudan to face Al Merrikh. A highly entertaining encounter concluded with a 2-2 draw, ahead of the return leg in Morocco.
Egyptian side, Pyramids FC also played out to a draw when they were held 1-1 by APR FC in Rwanda.
Burkina Faso side, Association Sportive des Douanes out up an impressive showing when they edged Algeria’s CR Belouizdad by 1-0.
The first leg of the 2nd Preliminary Round concludes on Sunday, with five interesting encounters lined up, including reigning champions Al Ahly kick starting their title defense away from home.
TotalEnergies CAF Champions League Results & Fixtures:
Friday, 13 September
Enugu Rangers 1 – 0 Sagrada Esperanca
Monastir 0 – 1 MC Alger
Saturday, 14 September
CBE SA 0 – 1 Young Africans
Red Arrows 0 – 2 TP Mazembe
Al-Merrikh 2 – 2 AS FAR
Jwaneng Galaxy FC 0 – 2 Orlando Pirates FC
Maniema Union 2 – 1 Petro de Luanda
Djoliba 1 – 0 ASKO
Douanes 1 – 0 CR Belouizdad
Sunday, 15 September
12h00 GMT | Gor Mahia vs Al Ahly
15h00 GMT | Samartex vs Raja CA
16h00 GMT | San Pedro vs Al-Hilal
16h00 GMT | Dekedaha vs ES Tunis
19h00 GMT | Stade d’Abidjan vs Milo FC
The return leg fixtures of the 2nd Preliminary stage will be played between 20 – 22 September.
-CAF
Enugu Rangers’ patchy form in the CAF Champions League continues as they struggled to beat visiting Angola’s Sagrada Esperance 1-0 in the first leg match played at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo.
It was in similar fashion that they played against Union Sportive de Zilimadjou of Comoros Islands who they beat 2-1 over two legs in Uyo.
Rangers’ lone goal was scored by Kazeem Ogunleye in the 80th minute.
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