Orlando Pirates are through to the CAF Confederation Cup final for the fourth time in the history of the club as they prepare to fly out to Nigeria to face Morocco’s RS Berkane in a quest for their second African inter-club championship title.
The final will be held at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in the city of Uyo on Friday night.
The Buccaneers lost their semi-final, second-leg clash 1-0 to a determined Al Ahli Tripoli of Libya at an overcast and wet Orlando Stadium after a downpour on Sunday night, but their 2-0 victory away in Benghazi last weekend saw them sail through on a 2-1 aggregate win.
The second-leg encounter was characterised by a plucky determination by the visiting Libyans as they fought throughout the 90 minutes to pull off an upset, and they came close on a number of instances when Richard Ofori was forced to make crucial saves.
Substitute Ali Arqoub gave Al Ahli a derseved 1-0 win following a not so convincing performance by the 1995 CAF Champions Cup winners in front of a buoyant but also decent crowd of Sea Robbers’ supporters.
One of the scariest moments for Pirates was when Gambian referee Bakary Gassama awarded the visitors a spot kick after Happy Jele seemed to have handled the ball in the 16th minute, however, the decision was nullified when the middle man consulted VAR.
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