Away goal seals passage for Royal AM into CAF Cup play-offs

MIDFIELDER Ruzaigh Gamildien nailed an away-goal advantage for Royal AM after his free kick settled a 1-1 draw with hosts Zesco United at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium, Ndola, in Zambia yesterday.

MIDFIELDER Ruzaigh Gamildien nailed an away-goal advantage for Royal AM after his free kick settled a one-all draw with hosts Zesco United at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium, Ndola, in Zambia yesterday.

After the teams played out a goalless draw in Durban last week, the two-legged tie ended with a 1-1 aggregate, but Royal AM advanced on the away goals rule.

They will now advance to their final play-off phase, which will decide the teams for the group phase of the CAF Confederation Cup. They will be joined by the eight teams eliminated from the CAF Champions League. This number includes Cape Town City.

Midfielder Collins Sikombe opened the scoring for the Zambians just past the half-hour mark, after Royal AM goalkeeper Xolani Ngcobo made several superb saves earlier on.

Early in the second half, Gamildien snatched the equaliser with a free kick that left Ian Otieno, Zesco’s Kenyan international goalkeeper, well beaten.

Royal AM were able to sit on this advantage for the rest of the second half and secure passage to the next round.

Meanwhile, at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane, Marumo Gallants joined Royal AM in the next round of the Confederation Cup after defeating Madagascar’s Elgeco FC 1-0 yesterday.

The win came after captain Lehlohonolo Nonyane landed a first-half goal.

Last week, Gallants scored an emphatic 3-1 win in the first leg and together with their latest 1-0 win, they ended with a 4-1 aggregate.

Meanwhile, Cape Town City’s first foray into continental competition ended in disaster after they failed to reach the group stages of the CAF Champions League.

On Friday evening, City suffered a 1-0 defeat to Angola’s Petro De Luanda in the second leg of their second preliminary round clash at the Estádio 11 de Novembro in Luanda.

Added to their 3-0 defeat in the first leg, it made for a 4-0 aggregate loss, and City ended on the ‘alsorans’ scrapheap. City will now play in the CAF Confederation Cup’s second preliminary round and their opponents will be made known at Tuesday’s draw.