AS FAR continues its rise in the CAF Women’s Champions League by winning a new final, the second in its history. She will return to TP Mazembe on Saturday.
Nothing can stop the AS FAR machine which is running at full speed. The opponents follow each other and the results are similar. Since the start of the competition, all the teams that have encountered the Military have fallen by the wayside.
Thanks to its strong determination, AS FAR finds itself today, two years later, in the final of the most prestigious African club competition, the Champions League.
To get there, the only representative of the national colors outclassed the Egyptian club FC Masar with a score of 2 goals to 1 Tuesday at the El Abdi stadium in El Jadida.
Favorites on paper, the reigning Moroccan champions were determined to continue the adventure. No question of leaving anything to chance! From the start of the match, they were very focused. This intensity quickly translated onto the field. In the 11th minute, the Military opened the scoring through Safa Banouk.
Relaxed, a little too much, after this opening score, Amine Alioua’s protégés were surprised. Sandrine Niyonkuru, pushed into the penalty area by Hajar Said, won a penalty. Her face-to-face with Khadija Er-Rmichi turned in favor of the Moroccan who splendidly repelled the attempt of the Burundian center forward of FC Masar.
AS FAR almost widened the gap, but its dangerous actions were deflected by the Egyptian defense. Doha El Madani and Sanaa Mssoudy were dynamic but lacked realism.
Without seeming to force too much, Nouhaila Benzina’s teammates, serene and experienced, managed the second half perfectly. FC Masar, although combative, hardly found the loophole that led straight to the goal.
They played deep, attacking from the left and right, but the military defensive block, quite aggressive and compact, exerted good pressure on the ball carrier, before the midfielder set the tone to get it out.
In added time, the referee of the match, the Namibian Antsino Twanyanyuwa awarded, after using VAR, a penalty to the Egyptians converted by Maya Ehab. Not giving up after this goal scored against the run of play, the Military will only wait a few seconds to double the lead by the “goleador” Doha El Madani with the transformation of a splendid free kick from the left side. Although FC Masar showed clear progress, AS FAR imposed its style thanks to rigorous defense and a skillfully orchestrated attack. This success underlines their ability to shine at major events, reinforcing their status among the best women’s teams on the continent.
During the post-match press conference, coach Mohamed Amine Alioua indicated that the AS FAR players believed in victory against FC Masar and knew how to manage the pressure throughout the match and, in This happened, after conceding a surprising goal in the last minutes. He noted that experience is decisive in this type of match.
Furthermore, the AS FAR coach praised the performances of goalkeeper Khadija Er-Rmichi, decisive since the start of the competition and who saved a penalty in this match.
For her part, Khadija Er-Rmichi, named best player of the match, said she was happy and honored to return to the final in Morocco, describing her reward as “the result of collective work”.
For his part, FC Masar coach Ahmed Ramadan said he was satisfied with the performance of his team which is discovering this competition for the first time. “We played against a strong, experienced and well-motivated team,” he said. “I have no regrets, we reached the semi-final and we still have a small final to play which we want to win,” he hoped.
In the final, AS FAR will meet TP Mazembe, already crossed in the first round match. The Congolese women qualified for the final by beating the Nigerian Edo Queens with a score of 3 goals to 1 after extra time (regular time: 1-1), in the semi-final also played in Casablanca. The Nigerians from Edo Queens opened the scoring through Ededem Essien (65th), before Merveille Kanjinga equalized at the very end of regulation time (90th) thus restoring confidence to his team. Exhilarated by this boon, Comfort Folorunsho (90+11th) and Marlene Yave Kasaj (90+18th, sp) gave the advantage to TP Mazembe during extra time.
TP Mazembe coached by the Moroccan Lamia Boumehdi thus gives a new meeting to the protégés of Amine Alioua. The latter rightly declared that the new face-to-face meeting will be “totally different from the first. However, we will keep the same state of mind and play to raise the national flag high, keep the trophy at home and honor the expectations of the Moroccan public. Remember that the meeting between AS FAR and TP Mazembe during the group phase turned in favor of the Military with a score of 3 goals to 1.
This is the second time that the Military has qualified for the final after 2022 in Morocco… Their coronation year. They will thus have the opportunity to equal the record of titles held by the South Africans of Mamelodi Sundowns (2).
In the classification match, FC Masar will face Edo Queens on Friday at 6:00 p.m. at the El Abdi stadium in El Jadida.
