Title-holders MAS of Morocco crashed out of the Confederation Cup as they lost 2-0 in Congo to AC Leopards, who win the tie 2-1 on aggregate to reach the group stage of the competition.
MAS were reduced to seven men as Rachid Dahmani was sent off after 25 minutes while Omar Ennamasoui, Said Hamouni and Younes Lyousfi were all dismissed in extra time.
A 40th minute goal from Diabole ensured the game needed an extra half hour to determine the winner.
The winner came in the 110th minute from Dialo, who scored from the penalty spot.
It was a second major scalp for Leopards after they beat two-time winners CS Sfaxien of Tunisia in the second round.
Another Moroccan side to be knocked out was
CO Meknes,
who lost 4-1 on aggregate following a 1-1 draw at home with Mali’s
Stade Malien.
There will be a Malian derby in the group stages after
Djoliba
(pictured) beat former African champions
Club Africain
4-3 on penalties in Tunisia.
Club Africain’s Hamza Agrebi scored in the 31st minute and then Amir Haj Massoud levelled the tie on aggregate with an injury-time penalty to force the decisive spot kicks.
However last year’s African Champions League runners-up
Wydad Casablanca
ensured at least one Moroccan side in the group stage.
Wydad were held to a goalless draw by visiting
AF Amadou Diallo
of Ivory Coast but advance thanks to their 1-0 win in the first leg two weeks ago.
Two Sudanese sides advanced on Saturday as Al Merreikh and Al Hilal both earned aggregate victories and will now face each other in Group A.
Al Merreikh
battled out a 0-0 stalemate in South Africa with
Black Leopards
but go through 3-2 on aggregate.
Al Hilal
completed a double over
CO Bamako
with Sudan striker Mudathir Eltaib scoring the only goal of the game in Mali to make it 3-0 overall.
The final two ties are set for Sunday with Angolan police outfit
InterClube
hosting
Dynamos
of Zimbabwe in a tie that is goalless after the first leg while Cameroon’s
Coton Sport
have a 1-0 lead for their trip to Sudan to play
Al Ahly Shandy.
The two-group mini-league phase will be played between 3 August and 21 October, followed by the semi-finals and final with US$660,000 going to the winners.
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