Ghana side Ashanti Gold head into their September 27 Caf Confederation Cup second leg tie with Morocco’s RS Berkane with a just a slim advantage following a 3-2 home triumph in the first leg on Saturday.
Talisman Mumuni Shafiu, Eric Donkor and Amos Addai netted for the Miners, but replies from Mohamed Aziz and Hamdi Laachir in the first round fixture at Obuasi’s Len Clay Stadium leaves the hosts in quite an uncomfortable position ahead of their visit to Morocco.
The winners over two legs secure a place in the group stage.
There was only one change to AshGold’s team that started in a 3-0 home win over Akonangui of Guinea in the preliminary round, as Appiah McCarthy took the place of Mark Agyekum.
Inspirational captain Shafiu, who registered all three goals in the Akonangui triumph, was entrusted to lead the lines once again.
On the other side, Burkina Faso striker Alain Traore was conspicuously missing from Berkane’s set-up after angrily walking out of Friday’s training session following a confrontation with a team-mate.
With a big win their target, AshGold started the match on the front foot.
However, neither they nor the visitors went close to goal until the 17th-minute when Eric Donkor’s cross-shot beat Berkane goalkeeper Zouheir Laaroubi and found its way into the back of the net to make it 1-0.
On 25 minutes, the Miners came close to doubling the score as McCarthy’s curling free-kick came off the crossbar.
Dangerman Shafiu, however, would not be denied when he went knocking as he capitalised on a defensive error to make it 2-0 on the stroke of half-time.
Moments after the break, the skipper planted the ball at the back of the net again after being played through on goal but saw his effort ruled out for offside.
In the 50th minute, Berkane halved the deficit through captain Aziz, who headed home from a free-kick.
Eight minutes later, the score changed to 2-2 when Richard Osei Agyemang’s attempted clearance fell kindly to Laachir, whose shot beat goalkeeper Frank Boateng.
Losing their two-goal lead did not discourage the hosts, a drive that was promptly rewarded with an Amos Addai goal on the hour mark to make it 3-2.
Berkane almost restored parity once again as Laachir’s shot struck the woodwork. The score remained unchanged at full-time.
