Moroccan Raja Athletic booked the first quarter-final cards for the African Champions League football competition, following it achieved its fourth successive victory on Tuesday, and came at the expense of its host Houria El-Gheni 3-1 in a match that the two teams finished in the first half with ten players, in the fourth round of Group C competitions.
The “Green Eagle”, the defending champion on three occasions, strengthened its lead with a full score of 12 points, by 6 points once morest Simba the Tanzanian, who won 1-0 at its guest, Vipers Uganda, and Huriya comes third with four points, and Vipers is in the last standings with one point.
The Casablanca team hit hard, as it started the danger on its host’s goal from the first minute, and it took only six minutes to mark the lead from a powerful shot by Walid Essabar that deceived goalkeeper Moussa Camara following a pass from Algerian Yousri Bouzouk.
Coach Munther Al-Kabeer’s team followed his danger, through Bouzouk and striker Hamza Khaba, and the most dangerous opportunity was for Zakaria Al-Habati, who was alone, but Kamara blocked the ball with his hand outside the penalty area, so the Ivory Coast referee Calelo Traore first declared a yellow card, then he changed his decision and famously showed the red card in the face of the Guinean goalkeeper (26) .
Raja players doubled their pressure and opportunities, taking advantage of the opponent’s numerical shortage, and Mohamed Al-Nahiri was able to consolidate the score with a direct free kick (42).
The two teams were numerically equal once more following the referee expelled Jamal Harkas due to excessive roughness (45 + 2).
Raja absorbed its host’s spree at the beginning of the second half, by intensifying his presence in the middle of the field, and Houria’s players sought to reduce the difference by shooting from afar, without posing any danger to the goal of veteran goalkeeper Anas Al-Zeniti.
Following a coordinated attack initiated by Muhammad Azraida, Walid Al-Sabar made an individual effort on the right side and hit a powerful ball that settled in the left scissors of the goal of the Sierra Leonean substitute goalkeeper Muhammad Kamara (63).
Raja scored for the first time this season through Senegalese Pape Ndiaye with a powerful shot to the right of Al-Zeniti, investing in a fatal defensive mistake by the Moroccan team (70).
The Ivorian referee awarded a penalty kick to Raja following a strong intervention by the goalkeeper on substitute Nawfal Al-Zarhouni. Zuraida rushed to it and hit it strangely weak (84).
In the same group, Tanzanian Simba repeated its victory over Ugandan Vipers 1-0 in Dar es Salaam. Zambian Clatus Shama scored the only goal following a pass from his compatriot Moses Ferry (45 + 1).
Al-Hilal is pressing Al-Ahly
The Sudanese Crescent renewed its superiority over Cameroonian Coton Sport 2-0 at the “Blue Jewel” stadium in Omdurman, in the second group competition.
And “Sayed Al-Balad” raised its score to 9 points at the top of the group temporarily, pending the completion of the round matches, by meeting Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa (7 points) and the third Egyptian Al-Ahly (4 points) on Saturday, while Cotton Sport remained at the bottom of the standings without a score.
Al-Hilal stressed the pressure on Al-Ahly, who holds the record for the number of titles in the competition (10 times), before its difficult confrontation once morest Sundowns in Pretoria, as it will be doomed to win to preserve its chances of winning one of the two quarter-final round cards.
The team of the Democratic Congolese coach, Florent Ibenge, made a strong performance in the first half, as he dominated almost absolutely, but his threat to the visitors’ goal lacked accuracy in ending the attacks, while the Cameroonian team relied on rebounds and the brilliance of the Sudanese international goalkeeper Ali Abu Twenty in front of Ibrahim Aba’s shot. Direct free kick (41).
Two minutes later, Ghanaian David Abanga opened the scoring for Al Hilal with a powerful shot, following a quick attack led by Mohamed Abdel Rahman “Gharbal” (43).
Coach Abu Bakr Suleimanou’s changes contributed to improving the level of his team, which abandoned its caution and attacked the Sudanese goal fiercely. Abu Twenty saved a missile shot fired by Abdul Rahman Daman (57), and the Sudanese goalkeeper shone in front of Ibrahim Aba’s header (68).
Moroccan referee Radouane Ged awarded a penalty kick to Al-Hilal in the 82nd minute, following substitute John Rubia was hampered by Basbon Waso. Macabe Lilibo of the Democratic Republic of the Congo came to it and scored it successfully, raising his tally to five goals in the continental competition this season.
