Nigeria’s Olisa Ndah and his Orlando Pirates teammates Friday night at the Nest of Champions, Uyo, lost 5-4 via penalty kicks to RS Berkane in the final of the CAF Confederation Cup.
After failing to score within the initial 90 minutes, the game in Uyo ended in dramatic fashion with Berkane shooting into the lead in the first half of extra time before the Bucs pulled level at the death to drag the game into extra time.
In the ensuing penalty kicks, it was the Morroccan club that prevailed; winning 5-4 to deny Pirates the chance of breaking their continental trophy drought that has gone on for 27 years.
First Half
Pirates made only one change to the side that narrowly lost the semi-final second-leg against Al Ahli Tripoli, as Kabelo Dlamini took the place of Abel Mabaso in an attacking line-up.
Both the Buccaneers and Berkane had clear chances in the early exchanges with the likes of Deon Hotto and Mehdi Oubilla failing to bury the opportunities that came their way.
Pirates dominated the game as the first half progressed and Bandile Shandu almost made their dominance count in the 33rd minute with a grass-cutter in the box that forced the Berkane keeper to make a diving save.
Another wonderful chance to break the deadlock came the way of Pirates from a set-piece on the edge of the box but Hotto curled his strike over the crossbar, before shot-stopper Richard Ofori had to keep out a threatening strike by Youssef El Fahli just after that at the other end.
Long night
Just like the first 45 minutes both teams had a flurry of chances to break the deadlock but they both failed to score thus ensuring that the game went into extra time.
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Pirates made a double change at the beginning of extra-time as Thabang Monare and Siphesihle Ndlovu replaced Ben Motshwari and Shandu as Pirates threw on fresh legs.
However, Berkane were awarded a penalty in the fourth minute of extra-time after the referee spotted a foul by Monare on Ismail Makadem in the box on the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) monitor, which allowed El Fahli to convert from 12 yards out.
The Buccaneers raised their game after failing behind and the pressure they piled on their opponents paid off when they finally levelled matters in the last three minutes after a stray pass by Lorch evaded the Berkane defence and trickled into the bottom corner to send the game to penalties.
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