“African Confederation”: A draw prevails over the matches between the Royal Army and Sfaxien

Real Bamako of Mali won 3-1 over its host Esperance Zarzis of Tunisia in the first leg of the 32nd round of the African Confederation Cup, in the match that was held at the “Tayeb Mhiri” stadium in the city of Sfax, on Saturday.

Fosseni Tangara opened the scoring for the Malian team in the 23rd minute, taking advantage of an error in the defense of Esperance Zarzis, and fired a powerful low shot from outside the penalty area that landed in the net.

Andrei Kamati added the second goal in the 45th minute, capping off a collective attack with a shot that surprised goalkeeper Saif Al-Din Al-Sharafi, who was ahead of his goal.

Camati returned to add the third goal in stoppage time of the first half, following a free kick that collided with an Esperance Zarzis defender and changed direction, surprising the honorary goalkeeper and into the net.

Hamdi Al-Obaidi reduced the difference for Esperance Zarzis by scoring a goal from a penalty kick in stoppage time of the second half, so the confrontation ended with the Malian team winning 3 goals to one.

Esperance Zarzis will face a difficult task in the return match scheduled for next week in the capital, Bamako, as it needs to win by at least two goals to maintain its hopes of continuing the continental journey.

The Tunisian African Republic returned with a valuable 1-1 draw from its host Mazembe, representing the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in the first leg of the round of 32 of the African Champions League, on Saturday.

Mazembe opened the scoring in the 38th minute through Kazima Bazou with a header, but the African responded quickly, as Alan Conte equalized less than a minute later with a powerful shot from outside the penalty area that went into the net.

The final minutes witnessed additional excitement, after the referee canceled a goal by Mazembe due to a handball that preceded the scoring.

The African almost returned with a valuable victory, but Ayman Al-Harzi's shot in stoppage time went past Mazembe's goal.

The return match will be held on October 25 in Tunisia. The African Club will seek to capitalize on the result of the first leg and secure the qualification ticket to the next round in front of its fans.

Al-Ahly of Egypt scored two goals in the second half to overturn a one-goal deficit to win 2-1 over its host Kitara of Uganda in the first leg of the Round of 32 of the African Confederation Cup, on Saturday, in the match hosted by the Ugandan city of Hoima Stadium.

Kitara took the lead in the 30th minute when Jadafy Wahab put the ball into the net from close range, using a low cross pass from the left side.

Omar Al-Saei equalized in the 67th minute with a low shot from inside the penalty area that passed between the goalkeeper's feet.

10 minutes before the end of the second half, Al-Ahly won a penalty kick in the 80th minute following an intervention by Akram Tawfiq inside the area, with Ahmed Sayed (Zizou) scoring the winning goal from the penalty spot.

The return match will be held in the capital, Cairo, on the 25th of this month, noting that the winner of the two matches will go directly to the group stage of the second African club championship.

Al-Ahly previously won the African Confederation title in 2014, while the Red Team’s last participation in the tournament dates back to the following season in 2015.