Rulani Mokwena’s MC Alger continue to impress week-in-week-out, as their hard-fought 1-0 win at the death over CS Constantine took them 11 points clear in the Algerian Ligue 1 on Monday night.
MC Alger are now on 35 points after 14 games, with 11 wins, two draws, and one defeat so far this season. Sead Ramovic’s CR Belouizdad are second with 24 points, while rivals USM Alger are third with 23 points.
It was end-to-end stuff for most parts of the game between Alger and Constantine, as the two sides cancelled each other.
Red card pays dividends
But it was the home side, Alger, who had the last say shortly after the visitors were reduced to 10 men, after Miloud Rebiai received a straight red card in the 90th minute.
Deep into stoppage time, Zinedine Ferhat netted the winning goal to send the home crowd into a frenzy and to ensure that the three points remain in Algiers.
The result meant that Alger ended Constantine’s four-match winning streak. Both teams have also caught up with other teams and played all their games in hand.
Next game against relegation candidate
With games coming thick and fast, Mokwena and his side will now look ahead to their next assignment against relegation-threatened ASO Chlef on Friday evening. The game is scheduled to get underway at 5pm.
Ramovic and his Belouizdad, on the other hand, will host Josef Zinnabauer’s JS Kabylie later in the evening in Algiers.
With the league now halfway through, Mokwena is on the right track to make history and become the first black coach to win the Algerian league.
The former Mamelodi Sundowns mentor is also still on course to break the record of amassing the highest points tally ever reached by a title-winning team in the league.
The current record is 68, and Mokwena could now go as far as 83 points, should he win all 16 remaining league games.
