AS FAR continued with a second victory against the Congolese TP Mazembe (3-1), in a match of the 2nd day of the CAF Women’s Champions League (Morocco-2024), played Tuesday at the El Abdi stadium in El Jadida, bringing its total at the top of group A to 6 points.
The start of the match was balanced between the two teams looking for the slightest space to exploit without conceding. The first opportunity was signed by Doha El Madani with a free kick at the entrance to the penalty area, deflected by the Congolese wall.
The Corbelles responded with a rapid counterattack on the right side, well negotiated by the Soldiers.
The two teams fought a fierce battle in midfield. In the 12th minute, AS FAR was surprised. Nkuadum Oyana took advantage of a misunderstanding in defense to open the scoring.
Galvanized after this goal, the Congolese women broke free. Thanks to a long game and passes behind the back taking advantage of the speed of Nkuadum Oyana and the large size of Kanjinga Nanguji, they created several clear chances.
The VAR intervened twice during this first period validating one goal and canceling another for the Congolese.
From the start of the second half, the “Zaâimates” took things in hand and in what way! Doha El Madani equalized in the 50th minute of the game, before Sanna Mssoudy doubled the lead just two minutes later.
Best player in the first match against the Aigles de la Médina, Mssoudy crowned the multiple actions of the “Black, Red and Green” by scoring a third goal. On the other hand, the Congolese women had not completely given up on the matter. They obtained a penalty, validated by VAR, in the last minutes of the match. The heroine of the evening Khadija Er-Rmichi kept the lead… 3-1: final score. AS FAR showed patience, intelligently negotiating the rest of the half against a tough opponent. The capital team will play their third and final match of the group stage next Friday against the University of Western Cape of South Africa.
Amine Alioua: “A difficult victory against a powerful opponent”
Declarations
AS FAR coach Mohamed Amine Alioua stressed that his team suffered in the first half against the powerful Congolese Mazembe before recovering in the second half to win 3-1. “The first half? It’s one of the worst we’ve played,” he said during the post-match press conference.
“We did not find solutions against a very powerful and fast team,” added the AS FAR coach. “In the second half, we recovered and imposed our game. Scoring three goals at the start of the second period made things easier for us,” he said.
Mohamed Amine Alioua also praised the work carried out by the Moroccan coach, Lamia Boumehdi, who “metamorphosed TP Mazembe”.
For her part, Sanna Mssoudy, named best player of the match for the second time in a row, noted that her teammates fought well to secure this victory. “We will keep the same motivation to win all the matches and keep the trophy at home,” she said.
For her part, Lamia Boumehdi regretted a certain lack of realism from her players “capable of increasing the score during the first half”. She, however, affirmed that she is aiming for victory and qualification against the Senegalese Aigles de la Medina.
