Morocco side RS Berkane won the CAF Confederation Cup for a second time after defeating Orlando Pirates of South Africa 5-4 on post-match penalties in the final at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo, Nigeria, on Friday.
Orlando Pirates will feel hard done by as they had more possession and created the majority of chances but ultimately came up short during the shootout.
After the match had ended goalless in normal time, RS Berkane was awarded a penalty in extra time after Thabang Monare was judged to have fouled Ismail Mokadem in the penalty box. Youssef El Fahli stepped up to convert the resulting spot-kick in the seventh minute of extra time.
Pirates pushed forward for an equalizer and were rewarded in the 117th minute when Thembinkosi Lorch’s pass evaded everyone in the penalty box and ended up in the net.
In the shootout, RRS Berkane scored all their penalties with Hamza El Moussaoui, Youssef Zghoudi, Mokadem, Issoufou Dayo and Brahim El Bahraoui netting their efforts. Lorch was the only Pirates player to miss a spot-kick handing the Moroccan side victory.
RS Berkane’s win means Moroccan teams have now won the Confederation Cup three times in a row and four times in the last five editions: Berkane (2020) and Raja Casablanca (2018 and 2021).
Pirates, meanwhile, lost their second final in the tournament having also been defeated in 2015 by Etoile du Sahel of Tunisia.
(Story compiled with assistance from wire reports)
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