Khaberni - USM Alger continued its dream of clinching the African Confederation Cup title for the second time in its history, after drawing (1-1) with its host Olympique Safi from Morocco on Sunday evening, in the second leg of the semi-final of the continental competition.
The first leg, which was held in Algeria last week, ended in a goalless draw, allowing the Algerian team, which won the championship cup in 2023, to benefit from its advantage in away goals, which are considered in the event of a draw in the aggregate score of the home and away matches.
USM Alger, which is in the final for the second time in the history of the competition, has set a date with Egyptian Zamalek, which has two titles in the tournament, in the final round.
The first leg is scheduled to take place in Algeria on the ninth of May, while the second leg will be held in Cairo on the 16th of the same month.
USM Alger scored through Ahmed Khalidi in the fourth minute of the stoppage time of the first half, from a penalty kick, placing it low to the left of Olympique Safi's goalkeeper, who attempted to save it but failed, thus the ball met his net.
Moussa Koné scored the equalizing goal for Olympique Safi in the 75th minute, following up on a corner kick from the left side, executed as a cross, which the Algerian team's defenders failed to clear, setting the ball up for him facing an empty net, placing the ball into the goal.
Olympique Safi tried to score the winning goal and qualify for the final round during the remainder of the match, especially after the referee counted 19 minutes of added time, but they failed to achieve their goal, thus ending their adventure at the semi-final stage.
It should be noted that the start of the match was delayed for an hour and 20 minutes from its original schedule after a large number of fans invaded the pitch of Al Massira Stadium in Safi before the start of the match.
