Former winners RS Berkane and CS Sfaxien progressed to the group stage of this season’s CAF Confederation Cup after winning their additional Second Preliminary Round second leg matches on Sunday.
2019 champions RS Berkane came from a goal down to edge APR FC of Rwanda 2-1 at the Stade Municipal de Berkane in Morocco. That victory gave the Moroccan side a 2-1 aggregate win against the Rwandan champions.
Aymen Harzi netted a 35th minute penalty to hand three-time winners CS Sfaxien a 1-0 win in Sfax, Tunisia, against Kenyan champions Tusker FC, who finished the game with 10 men.
The Tunisian side progressed 1-0 on aggregate following a goalless draw in Nairobi in the first leg.
Five-time African champions TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo settled for a 0-0 draw with South Africa’s Marumo Gallants but advanced 1-0 on aggregate.
2019 runners-up Pyramids FC defeated Congolese side Maniema 1-0 in Cairo to secure a 2-0 aggregate win while Algerian side Saoura overturned a 2-0 first leg deficit by thumping Ghana’s Hearts of Oak 4-0 to advance 4-2 on aggregate.
Another Egyptian side Al Masry beat Nigeria’s Rivers United 1-0 in Alexandria for a 2-2 draw but the Egyptian side advanced courtesy of the away goals rule.
Al Ahly Tripoli knocked out Stade Malien at the June 11 Stadium in Tripoli after winning the tie 4-2 on penalties after the game ended 1-1 on aggregate with the Libyan side winning the second leg 1-0.
Otoho d’Oyo of Congo booked their place in the group stage after a 1-1 draw against Kenya’s Gor Mahia in Nairobi to advance 2-1 on aggregate while Cotonsport of Cameroon beat Nouadhibou of Mauritania 2-0 to claim an aggregate win by the same score.
Tanzanian giants Simba FC lost 2-1 away to Zambia’s Red Arrows but advanced with a 4-2 aggregate win while a Kamir Konate brace earned ASEC Mimosas of Côte d’Ivoire a 3-2 win away to Interclube of Angola in Luanda for a 5-2 aggregate score.
Congolese side Motema Pembe defeated US Gendarmerie of Nigeria 1-0 but still crashed out 2-1 on aggregate while Mali’s Binga suffered a similar fate beating Zanaco of Zambia 2-0 but were eliminated 3-2 on aggregate.
South African giants Orlando Pirates already booked their place in the group stage after the Liberia FA had written to CAF confirming the withdrawal of Pirates’ opponents, LPRC Oilers.
Meanwhile, Enyimba of Nigeria will take a 2-0 lead into their second leg tie against Al-Ittihad of Libya. Sadiq Abubakar and Victor Mbaoma both struck in the first half at the Enyimba International Stadium in Aba to give the Nigerian side maximum home side advantage.
CAF is also yet to communicate a date for the first leg match between Algerian side JS Kabylie and Eswatini’s Royal Leopards. The game was postponed indefinitely due to travel restrictions arising from the COVID-19 pandemic following the emergence of the Omicron variant, which is believed to be more infectious than previous variants of the virus.
The winners of those two fixtures will complete the line-up of 16 teams for the draw of the Confederation Cup group stage.