OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Monday 11.25am
SUNDOWNS qualified for the African Champions League Cup quarter-finals after a goalless draw with Nkana in their second-round second-leg clash at Loftus Stadium on Sunday.
The South African champions won on away goals against following their 1-1 deadlock in Kitwe three weeks ago.
The home-side were expected to take the match to their Zambian opponents, but were too nervous and lost possession frequently, causing their defence to work overtime.
SuperSport United crashed out of contention in the Cup Winers’ Cup, losing 2-1 on aggregate to Al Ittihad of Libya despite winning 1-0 at home in Pretoria in Sunday’s second leg.
Some 150 Libyan fans travelled with their team on a private jet for the game and unfurled a giant banner of Libyan leader Muhamar Gaddafi.
SuperSport’s loss ends the hopes of an unusual Afro-European double for coach Bruce Grobbelaar, who won European club titles as a player with England’s Liverpool.
Casablanca crashed out of the African Champions League at the weekend, beaten in the second round on the away goals rule by giant-killers Jeanne dArc of Senegal.
A goal on the stroke of halftime by Aly Diallo ensured a 1-0 win for the west African club, who in the previous round accounted for another much-fancied north African side, Mouloudia Alger.
The victory gives Jeanne d’Arc a berth in the lucrative league phase of the competition after they narrowly lost 2-1 away in Casablanca in the first leg earlier this month.
Raja’s elimination opens the field for the African title, with Africa Sports of the Ivory Coast, Al Ahli of Egypt and Sundowns emerging as the new favourites.
Africa Sports had the biggest margin of victory in the second round, winning 2-1 away at Ferroviario Maputo of Mozambique to complete a 7-1 aggregate triumph.
Al Ahli lost their second leg tie away at Vitalo of Burundi on Saturday but still came through with a two-goal cushion on aggregate.
Nigeria’s Lobi Stars won an unexpected away win in Luanda against Primiero Agosto of Angola just a fortnight after firing their coach.
The 1-0 success was enough for a 2-1 aggregate win and keeps alive Nigerian hopes of a first-ever victory in Africa’s most important club competition.
Former African champions Zamalek of Egypt needed a penalty shoot-out to overcome Coffee FC of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa on Saturday to reach the quarter-finals of the Cup Winners’ Cup, where they are among the pre-tournament favourites.
Two other former African champions, Canon Yaounde of Cameroon and Morocco’s Royal Armed Forces, also won through their second-round encounters.
CAF Cup holders Etoile Sahel stayed on track for a successful defence of their title despite losing 2-1 in Senegal on Saturday to Compagnie Sucrere. A 3-0 win the first leg three weeks ago gave them a comfortable margin of victory.
There was a surprise in Ghana where the splendidly-named Cape Coast Ebusua Mysterious Dwarfs elimnated Wydad Casablanca of Morocco, another side who have tasted past success in African club competition. — Reuters