TP Mazembe held on to defend their Caf Confederation Cup title after defeating SuperSport United 2-1 on aggregate in the final, writes DYLAN APPOLIS.
Defending champions TP Mazembe came into the encounter having claimed a 2-1 lead after defeating Matsatsantsa in the first leg in Lubumbashi, and held a narrow advantage despite SuperSport having scored an away goal.
The visiting side got off to a better start and produced the first chance of the match when Rainford Kalaba beat the offside trap, before firing his effort over the target in a one-on-one situation with Ronwen Williams.
Daniel Adjei came close for Mazembe in the 13th minute after latching on to a cutback cross from Kalaba, but the attacking midfield steered his effort wide of the target from close range.
SuperSport had the ball in the back of the net after 29 minutes, but central defender Tefu Mashamaite’s goal was flagged offside as the scoreline remained 0-0.
Eric Tinkler’s side were doing most of the attacking in the final third, but struggled to carve out any real chances at goal, while Mazembe looked dangerous on the counter-attack.
Neither side could find the opening goal in the first 45 minutes of the game as the match went into the half time interval locked at 0-0.
Thuso Phala had a chance to put SuperSport ahead after 67 minutes, but the striker had limited space as his effort sailed inches wide of the target.
Substitute Dove Wome nearly made an instant impact when he latched on to Grant Kekana cross before forcing Sylvain Gbohouo into making a great save to deny his effort from close range.
SuperSport had another scoring opportunity in the 80th minute as Bradley Grobler’s free kick sailed over the target from outside the area.
Mazembe were then reduced to 10 men after Kabaso Chongo picked up his second yellow card of the game.
Thuso Phala was given his marching orders a few minutes later for a studs-up tackle as both sides were forced to finish the match with 10 men.
SuperSport pushed forward in search of the winning goal in the closing stages of the match, but Mazembe held on to their 2-1 aggregate lead until the final whistle to retain the Caf Confederation Cup.