Confederation Cup final places up for grabs

JOHANNESBURG: The struggle for places in the African Confederation Cup final reaches an intriguing climax this weekend.

Cotonsport Garoua of Cameroon must avoid defeat against Hearts of Oak from Ghana in Accra Sunday to win Group B while Sable Batie of Cameroon and Santos of South Africa play for pride in Douala. But Group A is more complex with joint leaders Enugu Rangers of Nigeria and Al-Hilal of Sudan and Asante Kotoko of Ghana, two points adrift, in contention for a ticket to the two-leg decider.

Bottom-of-the-table Petro Atletico of Angola have a score to settle with Enugu in Luanda after a 4-0 thrashing in Nigeria while Kotoko are also on a revenge mission in Kumasi having lost 2-0 away to Hilal. When Hearts forced a 0-0 draw at Cotonsport in the second series of pool matches, the 2000 African Champions League winners led the less competitive of the two mini-leagues.

But while Hearts suffered a shock defeat at Sable Batie, Cotonsport buried Santos under a four-goal avalanche and snatched a one-point advantage they held since. Based in the north-west town of Garoua, Cotonsport take a remarkable defensive record of five consecutive clean sheets to Ghana, where Hearts struck five past Sable in their previous home engagement.

If Maturin Kameni has been the outstanding goalkeeper of the group phase, Prince Tagoe is a little known striker capable of wreaking havoc among the Cotonsport defenders. Tagoe made no impression on the Confederation Cup until Sable came to Accra and found the Ghanaian impossible to contain as he scored a hat-trick to put the Phobians back on track to capture the 300,000-dollar first prize.

Batie are one point ahead of Santos and should win at home against a Cape Town club who have lost three consecutive games with error-prone goalkeeper Ryan Wuest offering numerous gifts. Santos lost to Hearts in South Africa two weeks ago and Bernard Bortey scored the only goal with a shot from the halfway line that floated over poorly positioned Wuest.

Head-to-head records may be needed to separate the Group A contenders with the possibility of Enugu finishing level with Hilal on 12 points or with Kotoko on 10 points. The first scenario would arise if both clubs buck the trend and record away victories in a group where nine of the 10 matches have been won by the hosts and the other drawn.

Enugu would advance to the final at the expense of two-time African Champions League runners-up Hilal as they triumphed 4-0 at home before losing 2-1 away when the experienced international campaigners clashed. However, in the more likely event of Enugu drawing with Petro and Kotoko beating Hilal, the Porcupine Warriors from Ghana will win the group as they beat the Nigerians 3-1 at home and lost 2-1 away. Enugu have been an enigma, winning all six qualifying and group games at home with a 19-2 goal tally, while losing four of five away assignments and battling to a goalless draw in the other.