Enyimba FC and Orlando Pirates were the final teams to secure their passage to the quarter-finals of CAF Confederation Cup on Wednesday.
Wednesday night saw the conclusion of the group stage phase, with two sides sealing their fate on the match-day six.
Enyimba secured their last-eight spot after beating Orlando Pirates 1-0 in a tensed Group A match played at Enyimba Stadium in Aba.
Cyril Olisema’s last-gasp effort settled the encounter which Enyimba had to win while Pirates had to avoid a heavy defeat at the hands of Nigerians.
Before entering the final stretch, all the four sides in Group A had a chance of progressing, and it was ultimately ES Setif and Al Ahli Benghazi who bowed out of the tournament.
Setif beat Benghazi 1-0 but the win was not enough for the Tunisians as they required to beat the Libyans by a bigger margin.
In Group B, already-qualified Coton Sport slipped to a narrow 2-1 against RS Berkane to finish second on the log behind JS Kabylie.
Omar Namsaoui scored Berkane’s opener on the ninth minute, while Hamdi Laachir added the second on 37 minutes to the already-eliminated side.
The Cottoners found a consolation goal through Lambert Araina three minutes from time, as the Cameroonian giants ended the campaign on nine points.
JS Kabylie finished on top of Group B by beating Zambian outfit Napsa Stars 2-1 in a match played at Stade 1er Novembre 1954 in Tizi Ouzou.
Mohamed Bencherifa opened the scoring on the 30 minutes before Kouceila Boualia doubled their lead three minutes before the hour mark.
Emmanuel Mayuka found the back of the net for the visitors at the 90th minute, just few minutes after Kabylie’s Rezki Hamroune was sent to an early shower for second bookable offence.
In Group C, Etoile du Sahel beat already eliminated Salitas 2-1 in a match placed at Stade Olympique de Rades to finish third on the log.
Hamza Lahmar opened the scoring as early as the sixth minute, while Souleymane Coulibaly added a second two minutes after the break.
Drame Michailou made sure that the Burkinabes didn’t go home empty handed after he pulled one for Salitas with 18 minutes remaining to the end of the match.
Elsewhere, ASC Jaraaf held CS Sfaxien to a goalless stalemate in a dull match played in the Tunisian city of Sfax.
The result ensured Jaraaf a top spot finish in Group C while Sfaxien finished second with nine points from six matches.
In Group D, Raja Casablanca ensured they finished their six matches without losing a point after beating Nkana FC 2-0 in a match played at Mohamed V Stadium in Casablanca.
A confident start from the Moroccan giants was followed by an opening goal in the 18th minute courtesy of Riad Idbouiguiguine.
Noah Sadaoui doubled their lead three minutes from halftime as Raja completed their group stages campaign on top of the group with 18 points.
In Cairo, Already-qualified Pyramids FC ended their group-stage campaign with a 1-0 home victory over Tanzania’s Namungo.
Ibrahim Adel scored what proved to be the winner three minutes past the hour mark after connecting to an Ibrahim Hassan’s through pass.
The victory ensured that Pyramids finish second with 12 points,three behind leaders Raja, who maintained their 100 percent record after beating Nkana later in the day.
Here is the list of teams in the quarterfinals:
Enyimba
Orlando Pirates
JS Kabylie
Coton Sport
ASC Jaraaf
CS Sfaxien
Raja Casablanca
Pyramids
