CAFCC: Wydad pummel Kotoko to book group stage

Wydad Athletic Club whitewashed Ghana giants Asante Kotoko by 5-1 in the second leg of the CAF Confederation Cup (CAFCC) on Friday.

The second preliminary round came up at the Mohammed V Stadium after the first leg ended 1-0 in favour of WAC at the Accra Sports Stadium last weekend.

An early pressure from the Moroccan side in a packed Stade Mohammed V saw Hamza Hanouri head in the opener with just a minute played.

The 22-time Botola Pro champions enjoyed a lion share of ball possession, making life difficult for Kotoko with great interpositional exchanges.

Asante Kotoko however came out of their shells momentarily, wining a corner kick in the process. Captain of the side, Samba Oneil headed in a well taken corner kick from Lord Amoah in the 18th minute to pull level.

The Moroccan side however made a quick recovery from conceding the equalizer with yet another firebrand pressure from all angles. A poorly cleared ball by visiting keeper Aziz Dari gifted Wydad a chance with Burkina Faso midfielder Stephane Aziz Ki tapping home from a perfect assist from Thembinkosi Lorch in the penalty box to make it 2-1 in the 25th minute.

Wydad continued to dictate the pace of the game throughout the period with Kotoko resorting to sitting deep at the back.

Lorch came close to increasing the tally in the final minutes of the first half but his ferocious strike was parried away by Aziz Dari to safety, ending the half at 2-1.

The visitors returned for the second half look reasonably good but the Moroccan club remained the better side with much control in all departments of the field.

WAC were awarded a penalty moments later when Dari brought down an opponent in his area with Lorch stepping up to increase the tally to 3-1 in the 53rd minute.

The inexperience of the visitors continued to play against them as they struggled to string decent passes together with Wydad gliding the ball on the wet pitch with much ease.

The hosts continued to search for more goals which paid off in the 85 minute when Dari spilled a well worked out exchange by the home side. The Moroccan giants added a fifth with an easy tap in by Mohammed Bouchouari, putting the game beyond the Ghanaian club.

WAC completed a 6-1 aggregate score line over the two legs to qualify for the group stage of the competition.