The qualification of the Moroccan team Maghreb Fez to the group stage of the African Champions League is at stake, and it is close to bidding farewell to the continental competition.
Morocco Fes lost its lead by a clean goal, falling into a 1-1 draw with its guest ASEC Mimosas of Ivory Coast, on Sunday, in the first leg of the second preliminary round of the tournament, in a match hosted by the Stade Cerafé in the city of Meknes.
Maghreb Fes scored through Oussama Noureddine in the 31st minute, but Bamba Sohaliu awarded the equalizer to ASEC Mimosa in the third minute of stoppage time in the second half.
It became enough for ASEC Mimosas to draw without goals in the second leg, which was held in his stadium, in order to advance to the group stage of the tournament, which he won in 1998.
On the other hand, Moghreb Fes, which is participating for the first time in the Champions League, must win or draw positively with a score of more than 1-1, if it wants to avoid early exit from the competition.
Ayoub Ayad scored the only goal of the match in Libya's 1-0 victory over Al-Suwaihli over Tunisia's Esperance in the first leg of the 32nd round of the African Champions League in Misrata, on Sunday.
Al-Suwaihli started the match strongly, and imposed early pressure on Esperance’s goal, as goalkeeper Bashir Ben Said was forced to intervene in the second minute to clear a dangerous ball from Amek Banda, before Moaz Issa shot over the goal in the fifth minute.
The home team's attempts continued, as Saif Jadour's free kick hit the post, and Ben Said shone in the 25th minute, parrying a dangerous header from Kwasi Sibo, to keep Esperance's net clean during the first half.
The pace of play declined at the beginning of the second half, before Al-Suwaihli regained the initiative and intensified his attacks, winning a penalty kick successfully executed by Tunisian Ayed in the 64th minute, scoring the winning goal.
Esperance tried to return to the score during the final minutes, and almost equalized in the 85th minute, when Hazem Al-Masturi’s shot went past the goal of Moaz Al-Mansouri, goalkeeper Al-Suwaihli, so that the Tunisian team wasted a dangerous opportunity to adjust the score.
Al-Suwaihli will be a guest of Esperance in the return match next week.
In the same round, Sudanese Al-Merreikh’s position on advancing to the group stage became not easy.
Al-Merreikh lost 0-1 to its host Houria Conakry of Guinea, on Sunday, in the first leg of the second preliminary round.
The only goal of the match was scored by Yakhoba Gnagna Bari in the 45th minute, while the Sudanese team failed to equalize during the remaining time of the match, making its position difficult in the return match, which will be held in its stadium.
Al-Merreikh now must win by two goals in the return match in order to continue its journey in the tournament, which it still aspires to win its title for the first time in its history.
On the other hand, it is enough for Houria Conakry to draw with any result to seize the pass to the group stage in the most important and strongest tournament at the club level in the African continent.
Raja Athletic Club of Morocco tied 2-2 with its host El Kanemi Warriors of Nigeria in the first leg of the 32nd round of the African Confederation Cup on Sunday, in the match hosted by the “Remo Stars” stadium in the city of Ikenne, Ogun State, Nigeria.
Raja fell behind in the sixth minute, but equalized in the 22nd minute, following a quick attack from the left side led by Younis Al-Khatib, who penetrated into the penalty area and passed the ball to Jordanian striker Muhammad Abu Zureiq Sharara, who easily put it into the goal.
Raja took the lead through striker Mathias in the 64th minute, after he set off to follow a returning ball towards the goalkeeper from the left side, and succeeded in reaching it before the goalkeeper, penetrating into the penalty area and entering the empty goal.
But the Moroccan team conceded a goal in the last moments, postponing the decision to the return match, which will be held at Mohammed V Stadium in Casablanca next week.
