AFRICAN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2018 - QUARTER-FINALS - 1ST LEG - ALL RESULTS
Entente Setif vs Wydad Casablanca 1:0
Horoya vs Al Ahly 0:0
Primeiro de Agosto vs TP Mazembe 0:0
Espérance vs Étoile du Sahel 2:1
REPORTS
• Entente Setif vs Wydad Casablanca 1:0
Holders Wydad Casablanca will have to overturn a 1:0 first leg deficit against Entente Setif if they are to reach the semi-finals
Entente Setif of Algeria seized a narrow advantage in their African Champions League quarter-final against holders Wydad Casablanca by beating the Moroccans 1:0 in the first leg of their tie.
Senegal-born Isla Daoudi Diomande scored the only goal on 16 minutes in Setif on Friday.
It gave the Algerians a slender lead ahead of the return match next Friday in a showdown between clubs who have each won the competition twice.
Victory for Entente was unexpected as they had the least impressive record of the eight survivors in the premier African club competition.
Setif lost three matches en route to the last-eight stage whereas Wydad were among six clubs beaten only once, with another challenger having suffered two defeats.
There could have been more goals during the second half of a match watched by a capacity 25,000 crowd.
Goalkeepers Abderrahmane Boultif of Setif and Yassine el Kharroubi of Wydad allowed crosses to slip from their grasp without being punished.
Naim Aarab squandered the best chance of a Wydad equaliser when he found himself unmarked only to head over.
Wydad hope to become only the fourth club after Egypt's Al Ahly, Enyimba of Nigeria and TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo to successfully defend the title.
• Horoya vs Al Ahly 0:0
Meanwhile, Ahly boosted their chances of reaching the semi-finals by forcing a 0:0 draw away to Horoya of Guinea in a cagey clash that delivered few scoring opportunities.
The best two fell to Salah Mohsen who failed to score when one-on-one with Mali-born Horoya goalkeeper Germain Berthe and later missed the target after being set up by Moroccan Walid Azaro.
Amadou Wonkoye of Horoya had a genuine penalty appeal waved away and team-mate Daouda Camara wasted a good chance with a miss-hit shot into the side-netting.
The other quarter-finals are set for Saturday with Primeiro de Agosto of Angola hosting TP Mazembe and Esperance at home to Etoile du Sahel in an all-Tunisia affair.
• Espérance vs Étoile du Sahel 2:1
Esperance have edge over rivals Etoile in quarter-finals
Esperance edged rivals Etoile du Sahel 2:1 on Saturday in an African Champions League quarter-final first-leg showdown between two Tunisian clubs.
All the goals at the Olympic Stadium in Rades came from defenders during a weekend when no strikers found the net in the premier African club competition.
Chamseddine Dhaouadi put Esperance ahead after only two minutes, Ammar Jemal equalised just before the half-hour and Sameh Derbali snatched the late winner.
The narrow win leaves the most intriguing of the last-eight ties delicately balanced ahead of the return match in Sousse next Friday.
• Primeiro de Agosto vs TP Mazembe 0:0
The other Saturday quarter-final, a dour struggle between Primeiro de Agosto of Angola and TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo, ended 0:0 in Luanda.
There was an electric atmosphere in Rades where Dhaouadi nodded twice former champions Esperance ahead from a free-kick before another centre-back, Jemal equalised.
Etoile looked like they might sneak a draw until full-back Derbali struck after 77 minutes.
There was far less excitement for a near-capacity crowd in Angola as Primeiro and Mazembe struggled for goals.
The home side wasted a good chance when Nigerian Akinfenwa Ibukun fired wide from the edge of the box on 19 minutes after a careless clearance by Ivorian goalkeeper Sylvain Gbohouo.
Mika Miche should have put Mazembe ahead later in the opening half when Primeiro got themselves into a tangle, but his close-range shot was blocked by a defender.
There were also no goals in the first match on Friday with Horoya of Guinea held in Conakry by record eight-time African champions Al Ahly of Egypt.
A few hours later, Senegalese midfielder Isla Daoudi Diomande scored early to earn Entente Serif of Algeria a 1-0 home win over title-holders Wydad Casablanca of Morocco.
The African champions qualify for the 2018 Fifa Club World Cup during December in the United Arab Emirates, where Real Madrid will be the star attraction.
DID YOU KNOW
2017 Champions: Wydad Casablanca
2016 Champions: Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa)
2015 Champions: TP Mazembe (Congo DR)
2014 Champions: Entente Setif (Algeria)
16 Sep 2018
Related countries
Algeria
Angola
Congo DR
Egypt
Guinea
Morocco
TunisiaRelated articles