Staff Reporter.
Orlando Pirates will be looking to keep their African dream alive when they take on Al Ahli Tripoli at the Martyrs of February Stadium on Sunday in the first leg of the CAF Confederation Cup semifinals.
Pirates have reached the penultimate stage of the competition for the first time since 2015, when they made it all the way to the final before losing to Etoile du Sahel.
The Buccaneers were hoping for a re-match against Al-Ittihad after they were drawn together in the group stages, but Al Ahli denied them that wish by beating their arch-rivals in the quarterfinals to secure their first-ever last-four berth in the Confederation Cup.
The Soweto giants needed penalties to get past Simba in the previous round after a 1-1 aggregate score line over the two legs.
The Buccaneers aren’t in the best of form coming into this weekend’s encounter, having won just one of their last five matches across all competitions, with their most recent result a 1-0 defeat to TS Galaxy in the DStv Premiership on Monday.
Fathi Jabal’s side are undefeated in 11 league and cup games since being beaten 2-1 by Pyramids on matchday 1 in the group stages and they drew 1-1 with Alittihad Misurata last time out in the Libyan Premier League.
Head-to-Head
The two teams have never met before on the African stage and Al Ahli Tripoli will be hoping to make more history by claiming the prized scalp of the Sea Robbers for a spot in the final.
How They Progressed
Libya’s most successful club began their journey in the first qualifying round with a comfortable 4-0 victory over Hay Al-Wadi before beating Biashara United 2-0 in the second qualifying round, with both ties settled over just one leg.
The Leader then advanced to the group stages after eliminating Stade Malien 4-2 on penalties in the playoff round, which finished 1-1 on aggregate over the two legs.
Al Ahli went on to top Group A on 13 points with an almost identical record to Pyramids, who finished runners-up after losing 1-0 in Benghazi on matchday 5.
The Tripoli outfit disposed of neighbours Al-Ittihad in the last eight, with a 1-0 victory in the second leg enough to see them march on following a goalless first leg.
Meanwhile, Pirates scraped past CSMD Diables Noirs in the second qualifying round with a 1-0 win on aggregate over the two legs and they beat LPRC Oilers 2-0 in a one-legged playoff tie after the Liberian team withdrew from the return leg in South Africa.
The Buccaneers lost just once in Group B (3-2 against Al-Ittihad on matchday 2) to progress to the knockout phase as winners ahead of Al Ameed on 13 points and they had to come from behind in the quarterfinals after going down 1-0 to the Reds of Msimbazi in the first leg in Dar-es-Salaam.
Penalties were needed to settle the tie after the Sea Robbers won 1-0 in the second leg in Johannesburg and they eventually triumphed 4-3 in the shootout.
The Sea Robbers will host the Libyan giants for the second-leg action on May 15.