CAFCL: RS Berkane earn favorable first leg result at Al Ahli Tripoli

Moroccan club champions RS Berkane are in a strong position to qualify for the CAF Champions League (CAFCL) group stage after earning a 1-1 first leg draw against Libya’s Al Ahli Tripoli at the Tripoli Stadium.

Fierce home support was not enough to lift hosts Al Ahli Tripoli to victory, leaving them with work to do for the second leg in Morocco on November 1.

The match was tightly contested with CAF Confederation Cup holders RSB doing excellently to hold off the high priced attack of Ahli. A scoreless first half allowed the visitors to settle into the hostile environment and be a bit more ambitious after the interval.

And the Orange Boys seized on a moment of carelessness to take the lead and snatch a vital away goal in the 68th minute. The Ahli defense was too slow to clear a ball in their penalty area and Senegalese forward Paul Bassene stepped in to win the ball and finish low, putting RSB into the lead.

The response was swift from the hosts, who equalized less than five minutes later when Angola national team forward Mabululu volleyed in a cross. However, RSB prevented the home side from capitalizing on the momentum to take the lead.