Bentaleb strike gives JS Saoura advantage as Diambars suffer in CAF ties

JS Saoura moved closer to the second qualifying round of the CAF Champions League after beating Horoya 1-0 at home in the first leg of their preliminary-round tie.

Oussama Bentaleb scored the only goal of the match shortly before half-time, giving the Algerian side a narrow advantage to protect in next week’s return fixture in Guinea.

The game was played at Stade Miloud Hadefi in Oran on Friday, where JS Saoura edged a closely contested encounter by the smallest possible margin. The result leaves the Algerian club in a favourable position, although Horoya will have home advantage when the teams meet again in Conakry on 12 September.

Bentaleb broke the deadlock in the 44th minute. The 24-year-old winger reacted quickest after the ball had been parried towards the penalty spot, beating the Horoya goalkeeper and the final defender before placing the rebound into an unguarded net.

The move began with an impressive burst down the left from 21-year-old Ivorian forward Ashiraf Ojo, whose direct running helped create the opening for the hosts.

JS Saoura will now look to complete the job in the second leg under manager Loutfi Boudraa. Should they progress, they will face the winner of the tie between Al Merreikh and Power Dynamos in the next round.

The Algerian club have not reached the group stage, or any final phase, of the CAF Champions League since 2018. Their domestic rivals MC Alger are the other Algerian representatives in this season’s competition and will begin their campaign away to ASN Nigelec in Niger on Sunday.

Mixed fortunes in the CAF Confederation Cup

There was a more encouraging result for the Ivorian side from Korhogo, who earned a 2-2 draw away against Chad’s AS PSI in the CAF Confederation Cup.

The match ended level despite Korhogo having to play on their opponents’ ground, leaving the Ivorian club with a competitive result ahead of the return fixture.

In Tunisia, however, Diambars suffered a clear defeat. The Senegalese club were beaten 3-1 away by ES de Zarzis, who took control of the tie with a convincing home performance.

Cameroon’s Panthere Sportive du Nde were unable to claim victory in front of their own supporters. They were held to a 1-1 draw by Rwanda’s Rayon Sports, leaving that contest evenly balanced after the opening leg.

The first-leg results leave the participating clubs needing to finish their respective ties in the return matches as they compete for progression in Africa’s two major club competitions.