Simba top Group D after victory over RS Berkane

Dar es Salaam. A goal scored by Pape Osmane Sakho was enough for Simba to beat RS Berkane of Morocco and revive their hope of qualifying for the knockout stage of the CAF Confederation Cup.

Sakho scored in the 44th minute of the game after a fine move that resulted in a good pass from Meddie Kagere.

The victory means that Simba are at the top of Group D table with seven points.

The Moroccan outfit now drop to the second place with six points. Another group D match was to be held late last night between Asec Mimosa and US Gendarmarie.

The victory was also a perfect revenge following a 2-0 defeat at the hands of the Moroccan team a few weeks ago. Simba will now have to flex their muscles to come out with positive results against Asec Mimosa of Core d’Ivoire on March 18 in Benin and later against US Gendarmarie of Niger on April 1 at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium.

Meanwhile, unfancied Petro Luanda of Angola and perennial title challengers Wydad Casablanca of Morocco on Saturday became the first qualifiers for the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. But there was no joy for two of the three most successful sides in the marquee African club competition with Al Ahly and Zamalek of Egypt both losing in a drama-filled matchday 4. Chabab Belouizdad and Entente Setif of Algeria, Esperance of Tunisia and Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa all won and are set to make the knockout stage.

Raja Casablanca of Morocco conceded and lost for the first time in six qualifying and group matches, but should still advance while goal-shy Ahly can go through, but only as a group runner-up.

The individual honours were claimed by Brazil-born Petro captain Tiago Azulao, whose early and late first-half goals set up a 3-0 triumph over fellow Angolan outfit Sagrada Esperanca in Luanda. Petro, whose only previous appearance in the knockout phase was 21 years ago, started with six Angolans, four Brazilians and a Portuguese, and the mix proved far too strong for Sagrada in Group D.

Azulao netted within a minute of the kick-off and his second goal, just before half-time, raised his overall tally to five, making him the leading Champions League scorer this season.

Erico Castro completed the rout deep in added time by converting a penalty against opponents who have failed to score in four group games. Wydad completed a double over Zamalek by winning 1-0 in Cairo through an early second-half penalty slotted Jorginho-style into the net by captain Yahya Jabrane. Petro have 10 points and Wydad nine with two rounds to come while Zamalek (two) and Sagrada (one) will be playing only for pride