African champions Pyramids flex muscles to cruise past Berkane

CAF Champions League title-holders Pyramids of Egypt demonstrated their strength on Sunday by hammering Renaissance Berkane of Morocco 3-0 on matchday four in Cairo.

Mahmoud Zalaka in the first half and Nasser Maher and Ahmed Atef after half-time scored for the side that won the premier African club competition last season at only the second attempt.

Pyramids were expected to translate home advantage into three Group A points after drawing with Berkane in Morocco last weekend, but the winning margin was surprisingly wide.

While Pyramids have made rapid progress to the top, Berkane won the second-tier CAF Confederation Cup three times and were runners-up twice in the past seven seasons.

When the clubs clashed for the CAF Super Cup last October, it was close affair, settled by a late goal from Congolese Fiston Mayele for Pyramids.

But on Sunday the Cairo outfit were quick to stamp their authority with Zalaka scoring his first goal of the African campaign after just 11 minutes.

Pyramids finally translated their dominance into further goals in the closing stages through Maher on 74 minutes and Atef seven minutes later.

The other match in the section produced an upset with Power Dynamos of Zambia defeating Rivers United of Nigeria 1-0 in Uyo.

No one was more surprised by the 50th-minute match-winner than the scorer, Kondwani Chiboni. His intended cross sneaked into the net at the near post.

Pyramids have 10 points, Berkane seven, Power four and Rivers one with two rounds remaining. Power host Berkane on Saturday and Rivers are at home to Pyramids the following day.

In Group D, Simba of Tanzania blew a two-goal lead over Esperance of Tunisia in Dar es Salaam, and a 2-2 draw dashed their slim hopes of advancing to the knockout stage.

After three straight losses, Simba needed maximum points and built a two-goal lead by half-time through goals from captain Shomari Kapombe and Yusuph Kagoma.

But the four-time African champions from Tunisia recovered and Malian Aboubacar Diakite and Algerian Kouceila Boualia scored to give the Blood and Gold a third draw in the group.

Stade Malien of Mali, maiden qualifiers for the group stage after 19 failed attempts, are the surprise leaders with eight points. Esperance have six, Petro Luanda of Angola five and Simba one.

Malien host Esperance next Sunday and maximum points for the Malians will ensure a quarter-final place.

Mouloudia Alger of Algeria scored twice in the second half through Marwane Khelif and Zakaria Naidji to defeat Saint-Eloi Lupopo from the Democratic Republic of Congo 2-0 in Algiers.

Sudanese side Al Hilal lead Group C with eight points, three more than Mamelodi Sundowns after beating the South Africans 2-1 on Friday. Mouloudia and Lupopo have four points each.