Staff Reporter.
Four semifinal spots are up for grabs with the 2020/21 CAF Confederation Cup quarterfinal second-leg matches set to take place on Sunday.
Moroccan champions Raja Casablanca will be banking on their home ground advantage when they host South African giants Orlando Pirates at the Stade Mohamed V in Casablanca.
The two teams drew 1-1 in the first-leg encounter which took place at the Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg with Ben Malango canceling out Vincent Pule’s opening goal last weekend.
Orlando Pirates coach Josef Zinnbauer believes it is “advantage Raja Casablanca” at the halfway point of their CAF Confederation Cup quarterfinal.
“It was a good game for us, but the result was a little bit disappointing,” Zinnbauer said. “Why? Because the team works very hard and in the last minute we had one or two chances to score but we didn’t get the result we wanted before the game. We have to fight now for the next match.
“In football you have all the possibilities. For us it’s better to win a game at home and it’s clear, don’t concede.
“Sure, it’s advantage for opponents, they scored [an away goal]. But we have also possibilities to score [away] and if you score then it’s not easy for the opponent, they have to score more.”
Zinnbauer praised the level of both teams and says he will work a plan for the second leg.
Nigerian giants Enyimba FC, meanwhile, will be determined to overturn a 4-1 deficit when they host Egyptian club Pyramids FC at the Enyimba International Stadium in Aba.
Ramadan Sobhi, Abdallah El-Said and Ibrahim Adel (brace) all scored for Pyramids in the first-leg match with Victor Mbaoma grabbing Enyimba’s away goal at the 30 June Stadium in Cairo.
Cameroonian giants Coton Sport FC will be targeting another victory over Senegalese side ASC Jaraaf at the Stade Lat-Dior in Thiès.
Lambert Araina netted the only goal of the match as Coton Sport secured a first-leg 1-0 victory at the Roumdé Adjia Stadium in Garoua.
Lastly, Tunisian giants CS Sfaxien will be seeking revenge when they take on Algerian side JS Kabylie at the Stade du 1er Novembre 1954 in Tizi Ouzou.
Redha Bensayah’s second-half goal earned Kabylie a 1-0 win over Sfaxien in the first-leg game at the Stade Taïeb Mhiri in Sfax.
The winners on aggregate will advance to the two-legged semifinals which are scheduled to played in June 2021.
CAF Confederations Cup Fixtures:
May 23, Sunday – Kickoff Times in CAT (SA, GMT+2)
3pm – Enyimba FC v Pyramids FC.
6pm – Raja Casablanca v Orlando Pirates
6pm – ASC Jaraaf v Coton Sport FC
6pm – JS Kabylie v CS Sfaxien.