The shock 2012 Confederation Cup winners
AC Leopards have become the first Champions League qualifiers from Congo Brazzaville to reach the group phase after a nail-biting win over
Entente Setif .
Leopards took a 3-1 advantage to Algeria ahead of their last-sixteen second leg, only for Entente to fight back, winning by the same margin at home.
With the tie level at 4-4 it went down to a decisive penalty shoot-out with Leopards just edging through 5-4.
They progress to the group phase, whilst Entente Setif join the other Champions League losers in the CAF Confederation Cup play-offs.
Recreativo Libolo of Angola knocked out Nigerian club
Enugu Rangers , winning their home leg 3-1 in Calulo after the first leg had ended goal-less. Goals from Senegal's Henri Camara and Dario Cardoso gave Libolo a two-goal advantage at half-time.
Africa Cup of Nations star Sunday Mba halved the deficit for the Nigerians after the break with a stunning shot from outside the box. With the tie finely poised, Cardoso then converted a penalty 18 minutes from time to take Libolo into the group phase for the first time.
Esperance, runners-up to Al-Ahly last year after winning the 2011 Champions League, have ensured that a Tunisian team will be present at the pool stage. In front of their home fans, they secured a 1-nil victory over
JSM Bejaia of Algeria. Khalil Chammam converted a second-half penalty to secure the win. The first leg had ended in a goal-less draw.
Sewe San Pedro of Ivory Coast squeezed through to the next phase on the away-goals rule after they drew 0-0 at home with
FUS Rabat of Morocco. The two teams were deadlocked at 1-1 ahead of their Abidjan showdown.
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“"Ahly will qualify - we must not let the first leg result mislead us into complacency as Bizertin are a good team with strong players”
Hossam al-Badry Ahly coach
Coton Sport of Cameroon, runners-up to Ahly five years ago, have improved dramatically since the competition kicked off in February and a 3-0 lead virtually guaranteed overall victory when they faced
Stade Malien in Mali. That first leg performance proved all-important for Coton Sport. In the return match in Bamako, the result was 0-0, leaving the visitors convincing 3-0 winners on aggregate.
Saint George hope to become the first Ethiopian club to reach the Champions League group stage when they host
Zamalek of Egypt.
The Addis Ababa outfit exceeded expectations with a 1-1 draw against the five-time African champions in Cairo two weeks ago, taking the lead through Oumed Oukri before Abdoulaye Cisse snatched a late equaliser.
After decades in the football doldrums, Ethiopia are on the rise with a Saint George-dominated national squad reaching the 2013 Cup of Nations after a 31-year absence and topping a World Cup qualifying group that includes South Africa.
Having fired eight unanswered goals past Jamhuri of Zanzibar and comfortably disposed of Djoliba of Mali, the Saints find themselves in unchartered territory with a lucrative mini-league slot tantalisingly close.
"It would be amazing to make the group stage," admits German coach Michael Kruger, who guided Egyptian club Arab Contractors to the 1996 African Cup Winners Cup title.
"We must be cautious and determined as Zamalek will come to Addis searching for a win and their continental experience is much broader than that of my players," he warned.
Brazil-born Zamalek coach Jorvan Vieira remains upbeat despite the first-leg setback in an empty Cairo stadium with supporters barred after ripping seats from fittings during a previous home fixture.
"Zamalek are capable of winning in Ethiopia and reaching the group phase.
In modern football there are no home and away games - you must play to win all your matches."
Title holders
Al-Ahly of Egypt host
CA Bizertin of Tunisia in Cairo and must also play behind closed doors because fans threw firecrackers on the pitch during a last-32 victory over Kenyan visitors Tusker.
"Ahly will qualify," insists coach Hossam al-Badry, whose side played out a 0-0 draw in Tunisia. "We must not let the first leg result mislead us into complacency as Bizertin are a good team with strong players."
TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo have halved admission prices to ensure a capacity 25,000 crowd in southern city Lubumbashi when they try to overtake a 3-1 deficit against
Orlando Pirates of South Africa.
While the eight aggregate winners advance to the six-round mini-league phase between July and September, the losers drop to the second-tier Confederation Cup and play-offs during May and June against last-16 winners in that competition.
Also related to this story
- Bizertin hold Champions Ahly to draw 21 Apr 2013 African Football (http://www.theinfostride.com/sport/0/football/african/)
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Via: BBC