It was the draw that Samartex will forever rue as their opponents, Raja Casablanca, had more than one thousand reasons to think about the Money Zone.
It was the draw that Samartex will forever rue as their opponents, Raja Casablanca, had more than one thousand reasons to think about the Money Zone.
With just two games seperating Samartex and USD 700K, the motivation was immense for the Western Region of Ghana’s based club.
The Timber giants had a lot to do to eliminate Raja because no Ghanaian club has ever won in Morocco in the CAF Champions League. Asante Kotoko, Hearts of Oak, Obuasi Goldfields, Aduana Stars, Berekum Chelsea had previously travelled to the North African country but all returned without a single win.
Raja Casablanca was denied for forty good minutes in the first half until the 27-year-old Marouane Zila opened the scoring for the Moroccan champions. It was a big blow for Nurudeen Amadu’s side as they conceded a goal in the 41st minute when fans thought they were going into the first half with goalless draw.
Raja came into the second half determined to score the second goal to finish off Samartex but the Ghanians remained resolute and fought to even equalise.
However, Raja ended Samartex’s slim hope by adding the all important second goal through Zerhouni in the 88th minute to end finally the Timber Giants’ dream of entering the Money Zone for the first time. 4-2 it ended on aggregate with Raja Casablanca returning to the pinnacle of African football after missing last season.
Samartex will learn from the mini trip and use it to prepare for next adventure.
COMMENTS