Unbeaten Rhulani Mokwena gets one over old foe Sead Ramovic as courageous MC Alger overcome Kaizer Chiefs star's CR Belouizdad to widen gap atop Algerian Ligue 1 standings

MC Alger extended their unbeaten run in Algeria to eight games after registering a 2-1 win over CR Belouizdad in the top tier.

Rhulani Mokwena and Sead Ramovich have not been the best of friends since their time in the Premier Soccer League in South Africa, where the former was in charge of Mamelodi Sundowns while the latter was at the helm of TS Galaxy.

As expected, the leaders, MC Alger, started the game on a high note but were caught on a counterattack by their opponents in the 17th minute, with Farid El Melali making it 1-0.

However, the People's club responded six minutes later thanks to Soufiane Bayazid, who hit the back of the net for the fourth time in the ongoing campaign to level matters and ensure teams went to the break evenly balanced.

With 10 minutes to go, the hosts got their winner when Alhassane Bangoura found space in the area and didn't hesitate to take it.

CR Belouizdad, which is the home to Kaizer Chiefs striker Khanyisa Mayo, had a numerical advantage in the stoppages when Ayoub Abdellaoui was sent off, but the damage had already been done.

The win put MC Alger on 25 points from the nine games played in the Algerian Ligue 1, eight of which have been wins and one draw. 

Olympique Akbou come in second with 21 points, having played 12 matches, which is three more than Mokwena's men. CR Belouizdad are placed 10th with just 14 points despite playing 10 games. This is not a good record for Ramovic, who was hoping to challenge for the crown.

Since joining MC Alger, Mokwena has led MC Alger in 16 matches across all competitions with a return of 10 wins, five draws, and a loss.

In the CAF Champions League, MC Alger were placed in the same group with Mamelodi Sundowns, Al Hilal and Saint Etiene Lupopo.

They started with a narrow 2-1 loss away against Al Hilal before drawing 0-0 with Masandawana at home, a match Mokwena felt MC Alger should have won.

“I want to thank the players for an incredible effort because even in the second half, the intensity was very, very good. I don't want to talk too much about the tactics because this is the Champions League, and we still have to go to Pretoria and try to win," he told the media.

"So, with a lot of humility, we accept the point even though there is a feeling inside of us that we could have won the game.

"It's not necessarily this result; I think after the performance of today, inside we are happy with the performance, but we are a little bit disappointed with only getting one point.

The 38-year-old believes his team can still make the knockout phase despite collecting a point from the last two games in the pool.

"But when the draw was done, if you had asked me if we would take 0-0 in the second game against Sundowns in this moment that we are in without Ghezala, Bangoura [Mohammed], only two weeks of training, Khelif [Marwane] returning, one week of training with Zougrana [Mohammed], if you tell me this and you offer me this, I take it and I run home to South Africa, fast. 

“This situation is a little bit complicated because of the result and the performance in the first half in Rwanda, and not necessarily this performance and this result. So, fortunately, now we take a bit of a break from the Champions League.

"We have to try and navigate our way, but if I do not believe that we can come out of this group, then I shouldn't be coaching a big team. As the head coach, I've got to give hope; I've got to believe that we can go as far as we can in the Champions League. This is your number one responsibility when you coach a big club like Mouloudia," Mokwena concluded.

Mokwena hopes to win the elusive CAF Champions League title, having failed to secure it with Mamelodi Sundowns during his two seasons with the club.

He also hopes to win domestic competitions thanks to the strong start he has had in both the league and tournaments.