ASFAR advanced into the final of the CAF Champions League despite a 1-0 loss at the hands of fellow Moroccan club RS Berkane at the Berkane Municipal Stadium on Saturday night.
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Al-Zaeem won the semifinal tie 2-1 on aggregate and will return to the final for the first time since their one and only Champions League triumph in 1985.
The Oranges, meanwhile, secured a creditable victory on the night thanks to a penalty from Yassine Labhiri, but it was not enough to overturn a 2-0 defeat from the first leg in Rabat last weekend.
Berkane dominated possession from early on and forced their visitors onto the back foot, though ASFAR’s defence was happy to sit deep and deny space for the Oranges to run in behind.
One of the few occasions in the first half when Berkane managed to cause trouble was in the 19th minute, as Youssef Mehri broke free down the right of the penalty area and played a cut-back from the by-line, but Paul Bassene was unable to squeeze home an effort at the near post, under pressure from two ASFAR defenders.
Despite seeing relatively little of the ball, Al-Zaeem still created the best chance of the first half. In the 21st minute a counter attack saw Abdelfettah Hadraf play a great pass to pick out the late run of Nolan Mbemba, but the midfielder then whipped a shot over the target when faced with only goalkeeper Anas Zniti to beat.
The interval arrived with the game goalless, but just six minutes after the restart the Oranges were awarded a debatable penalty, with Bassene tumbling dramatically under minimal contact from Anas Bach.
A VAR review was called for, but the referee stuck with his decision to give a penalty. Yassine Labhiri coolly struck home from 12 yards to make it 1-0 to RSB on the night, and reduce the overall deficit to 1-2.
In the 63rd minute Labhiri almost scored a second, whipping a shot on target from the edge of the penalty area, but goalkeeper Ahmed Tagnaouti made a superb save to keep his side ahead on aggregate.
Six minutes later a sustained attack from ASFAR ended with Hadraf curling a shot toward the top corner of the net, but Zniti palmed the effort away.
That proved to be the last clear chance at either end of the pitch, with ASFAR doing just enough to hold Berkane off and complete a 2-1 aggregate triumph overall.
ASFAR will face South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns in the final, set to be played over two legs in May.
RS Berkane (0) 1 (Labhiri 57’ pen)
ASFAR 0
ASFAR won 2-1 on aggregate
BERKANE: Zniti, Kandouss, Assal, Sadil, Boukhriss, Labhiri, Khairi (Machach 76’), Chouiar, Bassene, Mehri (El Kaabi 90+3’), Azri (Riahi 76’)
ASFAR: Tagnaouti, Mendy, Louadni, To Carneiro, Hadraf (Abdelhamid 88’), Mbemba (Ait Ouarkhane 59’), Hrimat, Bach, Hammoudan (Khabba 81’), El Fahli, Slim