TP Mazembe clinch fifth CAF title
TP Mazembe’s Tanzanian duo Mbwana Samatta (right) and Thomas Ulimwengu celebrate after scoring a goal against USM Algers during their champions league second leg final match at the TP Mazembe Stadium in Lubumbashi on November 8, 2015. PHOTO | AFP
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Ivorian Roger Assale doubled the second-leg lead four minutes into stoppage time by tapping in from close range after Samatta spearheaded a counterattack.
Johannesburg. Tanzanian Mbwana Samatta converted a 75th-minute penalty awarded for a clumsy foul at a packed 18,000-capacity Stade TP Mazembe in the southern city of Lubumbashi to open a lead for his TP Mazembe side against USM Alger during the second leg of the CAF Champions League final yesterday.
Ivorian Roger Assale doubled the second-leg lead four minutes into stoppage time by tapping in from close range after Samatta spearheaded a counterattack.
The second-half goals gave TP Mazembe a 2-0 home win over USM Alger and a fifth CAF Champions League title.
Leading 2-1 from the first leg in Algeria last weekend, the Democratic Republic of Congo club triumphed 4-1 on aggregate to qualify for the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan.
By winning the premier African club competition for the fifth time, Mazembe join Zamalek of Egypt as the second most successful side behind eight-time champions Al Ahly of Egypt.
Mazembe are only the third club in the 50 two-leg Champions League finals after Hafia of Guinea and Hearts of Oak of Ghana to win both home and away.
Goalkeepers Muteba Kidiaba of Mazembe and Ismail Mansouri of USM were virtual spectators during the opening half of the match staged on an artificial surface.
The introduction of Assale and Ghanaian Daniel Nii Adjei in the second half bolstered the Mazembe attack and Malian Adama Traore shot wide from close range just past the hour.
But persistent pressure from the home team produced two goals and the first CAF title for French coach Patrice Carteron after near misses in the past two seasons. (AFP)
