Coupe du Trône: RS Berkane advance to the semifinals after tense penalty shootout victory

RS Berkane’s remain in the hunt for a third trophy this season after the Orange Boys progressed to the semifinals of Morocco’s Coupe du Trône with a penalty kick shootout victory over AS FAR following a 1-1 draw.

In a quarterfinal duel featuring the champions of Morocco’s top flight Botola Pro (RS Berkane) and the runners-up, the clash had the urgency of a final. Abdelfettah Hadraf opened the scoring for Royal Army club AS FAR in the first half.

However, RSB once again showed the resiliency that has characterized their entire 2024-25 season. The CAF Confederation Cup champions fought back to level the match before the hour mark when a corner kick was flicked into the path of talismanic captain Issoufou Dayo and the Burkinabe defender finished from close range.

After an uneventful extra time, penalty kicks were needed and surprisingly, both captains failed to convert with Mohamed Hrimat missing on AS FAR’s third spot kick before Dayo failed to finish the victory on RSB’s fifth attempt. However, in the eighth round of penalties, Zineddine Derrag tamely rolled his attempt into the grateful arms of RSB goalkeeper Munir El Kajoui to give the Moroccan champions the victory.

Elsewhere, the remaining semifinal field is completed by fellow Botola Pro sides Olympique Safi, Union Touarga and Moghreb Tetouan after each club defeated second tier Botola 2 sides over the weekend. Hamza Darai’s second half goal gave Moghreb Tetouan, relegated at the end of the Botola Pro season, a 1-0 victory over Olympique Khouribga earlier on Sunday.

The result was the same for Union Touarga on Saturday who defeated Stade Marocain. Senegalese forward Papa Gadio scored the only goal in the 78th minute for Uinon Touarga who just avoided relegation from the top division this season.

And in the opening quarterfinal played on Saturday, Abdoulaye Diarra’s late penalty kick secured victory for Olympique Safi over USM Oujda. The Malian forward’s spot kick confirmed a place in the final four for OCS, perhaps the best candidate to prevent RS Berkane from achieving a cup triumph.

RS Berkane will face Moghreb Tetouan in the semifinals while Olympique Safi face Union Touarga. The fixtures will take place later this month with dates to be announced.

Quarterfinal Results

Olympique Safi 2-1 USM Oujda

Union Touarga 1-0 Stade Marocain

Moghreb Tetouan 1-0 Olympique Khouribga

AS FAR 1-1 RS Berkane (AET)

Semifinal Fixtures

Moghreb Tetouan v RS Berkane

Olympique Safi v Union Touarga