CAF Confederation Cup
Malian striker stops Nigeria’s Rivers flow in Confederation Cup
Days after Mali inflicted a 2-0 defeat on Nigeria’s Super Eagles in Morocco, another Malian has scored another two goal licking on Nigeria’s continental flag bearer, Rivers United as they fell 2-0 to Algeria’s USM Alger.
Malian striker, Abdullah Kanou, scored both goals for USM Alger that secured the valuable victory that for his team, allowing them to reach the semi-finals for the second consecutive time on a 2-1 goal aggregate.
USM Alger rectified their defeat in the first leg in Nigeria with a 1-0 loss and advanced to the last four and keep alive their hopes of retaining the title.
USM Alger started the match strongly, aiming to open the scoring, but they were unable to do so until the 37th minute when Kanou opened the scoring from close range.
The second half saw a significant increase in USM Alger’s attacking movements, hoping to extend their lead, but the play became more centralized in the midfield.
Rivers United came close to equalizing, but Andy Ogbai’s header hit the crossbar of the Algerian goalkeeper, Osama Ben Boute, in the 72nd minute.
Kanou struck again in the 74th minute, securing the second goal that guaranteed the defending champions’ qualification to the semi-finals.
USM Alger will face Moroccan club Berkane in the semi-finals later on this month.
CAF Confederation Cup
Further CAF Sanctions await USM Alger and Algerian Football Federation
With the last minute withdrawal of USM Alger from the second leg match of the CAF Confederation Cup semi-final against Morocco’s RS Berkane, the Algerian club and the federation will be expecting further sanctions from CAF.
The Algerian team arrived Morocco on Friday for the Sunday scheduled match.
But on match day, first they failed to show up for the traditional warm-up preceding a match and eventually refused to play the match ostensibly on the instruction of the Algerian football federation.
The bone of contention is the outline Morocco map on the RS Berkane jerseys.
According to CAF regulations, “a withdrawal declared by a team after having qualified for the quarter-final and semi-final matches entails, in addition to the loss of the right of entry, a fine of fifty thousand (50,000) US dollars,”
In addition: “any team withdrawing from the competition after the calendar has been established will be prohibited from participating in all CAF interclub competitions for the next two editions following the edition of its withdrawal.”
Furthermore the regulations state: “in the event of a team’s withdrawal, its federation will be responsible for the financial and other consequences to be determined by the Interclub Commission and/or the CAF disciplinary jury”.
CAF Confederation Cup
BREAKING! RS Berkane – USM Alger Confederation Cup return match is called off
Like the first leg match, the return leg match of the semi-final game of Morocco’s RS Berkane and USM Alger of Algeria has been called off.
The Algerians arrived Morocco on Friday but the club has decided to withdraw from the match scheduled for Sunday at 8pm.
The Algerian authorities have recalled USM Alger as the Moroccans will play the match with jerseys that have the full map of the country.
FIFA has not made statement yet on the cancelled second leg match. But a sanction is imminent against the Football federation of Algeria.
A CAF club commission decided to refer the matter to the disciplinary committee for possible additional sanctions against Algerian authorities.
This may possibly include a ban that will see the country out of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations which has potential of being politicised with the possible qualification of Algeria.
CAF Confederation Cup
Dream aborted for Dreams FC as clinical Zamalek cruise into Confederation Cup final
The dream is over for Dreams FC. The Ghanaian fairytale makers saw their remarkable journey in the CAF Confederation Cup brought to a shuddering halt by the ruthless cutting edge of Zamalek.
After a goalless first leg in Cairo, Hamza Mathlouthi’s early opener set the Egyptian giants on their way to a 3-0 victory in Kumasi that secured their place in the final with an emphatic dismissal of the competition’s surprise package.
Samson Akinyoola’s sumptuous volley and a late Mustafa Shalaby strike put the seal on a professional away performance as Zamalek underlined their status as continental heavyweights.
For Dreams, an inaugural tilt at African club football’s second-tier competition ends with their heads held high, even if this humbling defeat will sting for some time to come.
Having already dumped out Mali heavyweights Stade Malien en route to the last four, the Ghanaians arrived in Kumasi buoyed by belief they could create yet another monumental upset.
Those hopes were swiftly extinguished, however, as Mathlouthi continued his hobby of scoring by powering home a back-post header to silence the fans in Kumasi.
The Tunisian defender had netted in Zamalek’s first leg quarter-final success over Modern Future, he repeated the trick after just 12 minutes to put the White Knights firmly in control of the tie.
Akinyoola’s magical left-footed strike just after the midway point of the first half then left Dreams needing to score three times to keep their dream alive.
Experienced striker John Antwi and young Abdul Aziz Issah fluffed good scoring opportunities to bring Dreams FC back into the game before Zamalek goalkeeper Mohamed Awad pulled two saves to deny the home side.
The outstanding Omar Gaber and the tireless Hossam Abdelmaguid went close to increasing Zamalek’s advantage before the break as Zamalek turned the screw with their trademark mix of power and guile.
Any hopes Dreams harboured of a miraculous comeback were effectively extinguished just before the hour mark, when Shalaby broke his six-month scoring drought in clinical fashion.
The winger had not found the net since October but kept his composure after being slipped in to drill past the helpless Solomon Agbasi and complete the scoring.
For much of the second period it was a case of attack versus defence as Zamalek threatened to run riot while Dreams desperately sought to restore some respectability to the scoreline.
In the end, their historic continental run was ended in abrupt fashion by a Zamalek side painfully clinical on the counter with the Egyptian heavyweights marching on into yet another continental final.
-
CAF Confederation Cup5 days ago
Nigeria’s Samson Adamu signs Algeria’s USM match forfeiture
-
CAF Confederation Cup5 days ago
BREAKING! CAF awards abandoned Confederation Cup semi-finals to Morocco’s RS Berkane
-
African Games5 days ago
BREAKING! Accra 2023 African Games Chieftain is dead
-
Premier League6 days ago
Five-Star Arsenal hammer Chelsea to move three points clear at the top
-
Nigerian Football3 days ago
Remo Stars close to winning their first Nigeria Premier League title
-
CAF Confederation Cup1 week ago
Confederation Cup runs into crisis as Moroccan players of RS Berkane are stranded at Algerian airport following seizure of jerseys and equipment
-
Premier League6 days ago
Arsenal serve ‘5 Alive’ to Chelsea
-
CAF Confederation Cup1 week ago
CAF compels Algeria to release Morocco’s RS Berkane equipment