RS Berkane clinch 3rd CAF Confederation Cup title
JOHANNESBURG: Soumaila Sidibe equalised in added time to give Renaissance Berkane of Morocco a 1-1 draw with 10-man Simba of Tanzania on Sunday, rubber-stamping a third CAF Confederation Cup title in six seasons. Berkane triumphed 3-1 on aggregate after building a two-goal lead in the first leg of the final in Morocco last Sunday.
It was the fifth final appearance for the Moroccan club — they also triumphed in 2020 and 2022, and were runners-up in 2019 and 2024.
Malian Sidibe came off the bench and dispossessed an opponent inside the area on 93 minutes, before scoring with a shot that beat Guinean goalkeeper Moussa Camara at his near post.
Simba went ahead in the second leg of the final in Zanzibar City after 17 minutes when Zambian Joshua Mutale took advantage of being unmarked at the far post to fire a low effort into the net.
Berkane squandered a great chance to equalise on the day when captain Issoufou Dayo headed over from close range.
That chance came after Camara dived to parry away an Adil Tahif far-post header before a capacity 15,000 crowd at the Amaan Stadium in the Indian Ocean island.
Simba suffered a huge blow on 50 minutes when midfielder Yusuph Kagoma was sent off after a foul on Imad Riahi triggered a second yellow card.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, Simba pressed for a second goal that would level the aggregate score, and thought they had done so on 73 minutes.
A free-kick by Ivorian Jean Charles Ahoua was headed past Berkane goalkeeper Munir Mohamedi by Ugandan Steven Mukwala only for the goal to be ruled offside after a lengthy VAR review.
The second leg build-up was overshadowed by a Confederation of African Football (CAF) decision to move the match from Dar es Salaam on the Tanzanian mainland to semi-autonomous Zanzibar.
A CAF inspection of the 60,000-capacity Benjamin Mkapa national stadium pitch revealed several problems.
"Naturally, this outcome is disheartening. We will go to Zanzibar not by choice, but by duty," said Simba owner Mo Dewji.
After eight consecutive appearances in the African equivalent of the UEFA Europa League, Berkane will not defend the Confederation Cup next season.
The Orange Boys recently won the Moroccan league for the first time and will compete in the next CAF Champions League. Simba have also qualified for the premier African club competition.
Berkane pocketed $2 million and will receive a further $500,000 if they beat Champions League winners Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa or Pyramids of Egypt in the Super Cup. — AFP
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