Durban — Orlando Pirates suffered a 5-4 penalty shoot-out defeat at the hands of RS Berkane in the CAF Confederation Cup Final at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Nigeria on Friday night.
Thabo Monare, who had only been on the field for four minutes, made a clumsy error in judgement during a set-piece and kicked the heels of a jumping Berkane attacker, giving referee Johnny Sikazwe no choice but to point to the spot.
El Fahli then stepped up and sent Richard Ofori the wrong way and notched up his second penalty goal in as many games.
Thembinkosi Lorch's equaliser in the 118th was cast with a stroke of luck as the Buccaneers clawed their way back into the match.
The 29 year old bundled his way into the penalty area and somehow his miss-kick evaded everybody and ended in the back of the Berkane net.
It was a case of form versus experience in this high-stakes encounter with the top scorers of the competition Pirates up against the winners of the 2020 edition and three time finalists of this competition, RS Berkane.
One of the contenders for player of the tournament, Bandile Shandu, started in his usual right back slot, looking to finish the competition in style while Lorch, Deon Hotto and Kwame Peprah led the Buccaneers frontline looking to use their speed in behind to cause chaos for the Moroccans.
Congolese Coach Florent Ibenge entrusted in-form flying winger El Fahli with goalscoring duties, hoping the Moroccan international would replicate his semi-final brace and help Ibenge break a personal curse that has seen him miss out on a continental medal at the final hurdle on three other occasions.
Pirates started the match the brightest and had a golden opportunity to take the lead inside three minutes.
Hotto was delightfully played through on goal by Kabelo Dlamini but the Namibian international wasted the chance and fired a weak shot into the arms of the Berkane goalkeeper Akbi Hamiani.
Although Pirates had the better of the chances,The opening half was made up of a lot of sluggish play as both teams struggled to adjust with the muddy conditions.
A lot of misplaced passes and a bunch of fouls were the most frequent actions on the pitch as neither side could stamp their authority on proceedings.
The conditions seem to take their toll on both sides as the tempo of the game slowed with little to no chances being created after the 75th minute mark, sending the game into extra time.
The triumphant Orange Boys will get back to domestic duties while they await the winner of the CAF Champions League between Al Ahly and Wydad Casablanca , whom they will take on in the CAF Super Cup.
IOL Sport