RS Berkane beat Zamalek 1-0 in the 2018/2019 CAF Confederation Cup final first-leg match at Stade Municipal de Berkane on Sunday.
Morocco’s Berkane will now take on Egyptian giants Zamalek in the second leg in Cairo on Sunday 26 May 2019.
The Oranges dominated the match from the start and they should have grabbed an early goal in the 13th minute.
They created goal-scoring opportunities which were missed by Haamdi Laachir, Amine El Kess and Issofou Dayo.
In the 32nd minute, the visitors had their first effort at goal when Tarek Hamed let off a shot from distance but it deflected off Ismael Mokadem’s back and went behind for a corner.
Ten minutes later, Laachir had a half chance for Berkane when he dribbled in from the left, finding some comfortable shooting space but his shot went high and wide.
A minute to halftime, Zamalek had their first effort on target when Omar El Said’s cheeky dink from the edge of the area found a running Tarek Hamed, but the midfielder’s effort to head the ball over the keeper was futile.
In the second half, Berkane stepped up and thought they had scored eight minutes in when Kodjo Laba buried home from the six-yard box off a Dayo free-kick but the second assistant referee’s flag was up for offside.
Ten minutes later, the White Knights had an open chance to break the deadlock when Mahmoud Kahraba was teed up from the heart of the defense only to miss the chance following a one-on-one situation.
RS Berkane had a penalty claim waved away by the referee following a VAR review as Hamed allegedly handled the ball in the area.
The hosts kept the pressure and had another chance with a quarter of an hour left when Ouidare tried to rifle a shot from distance but it went straight into the goalkeeper’s palms.
Sensing that pressure was building on their end, the visitors resorted to running down the clock going down at every opportunity, the Berkane players growing frustrated every minute.
With a sense of urgency creeping in as the clock ticked away, the home side increased their attacks, but that didn’t change the scoreline.
However, when it looked headed for a draw, Togolese forward Kodjo Fo-Doh Laba picked up the ball inside the box to thump home after being put through by Souhail Yechou.
