Mputu seals CAF Cup final place for Mazembe

JOHANNESBURG: Captain Tresor Mputu scored to give TP Mazembe a 1-0 home win over Stade Malien this weekend and a place in the CAF Confederation Cup final.

The Democratic Republic of Congo club qualified 3-1 on aggregate having won the first leg of the semi-final 2-1 in Mali two weeks ago.

Title favourites Mazembe will confront CS Sfaxien or CA Bizertin, who meet late Sunday in an all-Tunisian clash, over two legs during November for a $660,000 (480,000 euros) first prize.

Mazembe lacked Zambia trio Stoppila Sunzu, Rainford Kalaba and Nathan Sinkala, whose passports were confiscated over a club-versus-country row.

The Congolese say Kalaba and Sinkala have malaria and Sunzu a knee injury, but the Zambians believe they arrived late in Lusaka to dodge a friendly against Brazil in Beijing last Tuesday.

When the trio tried to cross into DR Congo Friday, border officials turned them away and the passports were later seized.

Playmaker Mputu converted a seventh-minute penalty in southern city Lubumbashi after Ghanaian Salomon Asante was fouled as he surged into the box.

Needing two goals to force a penalty shootout, 2009 Confederation Cup winners Stade applied pressure only to be foiled by poor finishing and good goalkeeping from Robert Kidiaba.

Patrick Ilongo has been ruled out of the first leg of the final in Tunisia as his late red card triggers an automatic one-match suspension.

Malian Abdoulaye Sissoko was also sent off by the Algerian referee as tempers flared on the artificial pitch at the 30,000-seat Stade Mazembe.

The CAF Confederation Cup is the African equivalent of the Europa League and was introduced nine years ago with Hearts of Oak from Ghana the first winners.

Mazembe, the fourth most successful club in CAF competitions with seven titles, are hoping to become the first Congolese winners of the Confederation Cup. (AFP)