An early goal by striker Mouhssine Iajour sealed Raja Casablanca’s place in the Caf Confederation Cup semi-finals as they edged visitors CARA Brazzaville 1-0 on Sunday, to complete a 3-1 aggregate scoreline.
Having won the first leg 2-1 away from home, Raja might have already had one foot in the last four, but they confirmed their place in the home fixture to set up a date with Nigerian giants Enyimba.
CARA arrived at the Stade Mohamed V facing an almost impossible task of winning by a two-goal margin to reach the semi-finals.
But Raja made sure they would not have to shed much sweat with Iajour heading home a free kick from Abderrahim Achchakir as early as four minutes into the match.
With Raja having last won silverware in Africa in 2003 when they lifted the then Caf Cup, they are now focused on negotiating their way past Enyimba to reclaim continental glory.
Elsewhere in Setif, Palestinian striker Mahmoud Wadi was again the star of the show when his goal sank USM Alger and earned Al-Masry a 1-0 away victory that sent them to the semi-finals on aggregate.
Al-Masry will now meet Congolese giants AS Vita in the last four.
Wadi had been the toast of the reverse fixture in Port Said with his second half strike firing Al-Masry to a 1-0.
By reaching the semi-finals, Al-Masry edged closer to a maiden continental crown as they are pressed to emulate compatriots Al-Ahly and Zamalek who have enjoyed immense success on the continent.
Meanwhile, in another quarter-final showdown, Fabrice Luamba Ngoma scored late on to extinguish all of RSB Berkane’ semi-final hopes with an equaliser that helped AS Vita salvage a 1-1 away draw as they recorded a 4-2 aggregate victory.
On a night when hosts Berkane appeared right on course to overturn the 3-1 loss they suffered in the first leg in Kinshasa, AS Vita showed some character to end the match as a contest.
Experienced Burkinabe striker Alain Traore had thrust Berkane into the lead as early as the sixth minute and left his side needing another goal to advance to the semis on the away goals rule.
But as they pressed for the important goal, AS Vita put up a resilient show with Luamba Ngoma levelling the scoreline with three minutes left until full time.
That left Berkane with a tough task of scoring two more goals to at least push the match to a penalty shootout.
With the win, AS Vita set up a semi-final date with Al-Masry.
