Usuthu can hold heads high after Raja defeat

Durban – AmaZulu fought bravely but were ultimately outdone as Raja Casablanca beat them 1-0 in their first ever CAF Champions League group stage fixture at the Stade Mohammed V Stadium in Casablanca on Saturday night.

After some bad luck, Raja deservedly took the lead in the 70th minute.

After good build-up play, the man who gave the home side the lead was Mohsine Mautaouali. With Usuthu players retreating in big numbers to protect their goal, the Raja players exchanged passes before Mautaouali produced a calm finish to score.

As expected, it was the home side who had more possession in the opening exchanges of the game. Casablanca had their first real opportunity of the game in the ninth minute as Zakaria El Wardi took a right-footed shot from outside the box which went wide.

Benni McCarthy’s men had their best opportunity of the first half on the stroke of half time as a breakaway led to Makhehlene Makhaula picking the ball in a goal scoring position. The veteran shot but was unlucky to have seen his shot hit the woodwork.

Overall, AmaZulu would have been the happier side to enter the changeroom at half-time without having conceded.

Usuthu’s key striker Bongi Ntuli was not a threat at all to the Raja defence amidst being deprived of service. He was eventually withdrawn in the last half hour and replaced by Abraham Majok.

Raja nearly took the lead in the 64th minute as Mohamed Al Makaazi floated in a cross towards the path of Kadima Kabangu. The DR Congo international beat Veli Mothwa with his header but it was just wide.

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After a good performance from Usuthu, the home team walks away with the win.

🇲![CDATA[]]>🇦 Raja Club Athletic 1️⃣-0️⃣ #AmaZuluFC 🇿![CDATA[]]>🇦#HebeUsuthu #UsuthuTogether#UsuthuCAFTakeover pic.twitter.com/uKsFpxammP

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The result was perhaps a fair reflection of the game. Apart from hitting the woodwork in the first half, Usuthu never threatened thereafter, so much so that they failed to muster a single shot on target with just four shots in total.

By contrast, Raja had 19 shots in total with eight being on target. Overall, it was not a terrible showing from the South African side considering that it was their first ever CAF Champions League group stage game whilst Raja are an established continental side, having won the most recent edition of the CAF Confederation Cup.

AmaZulu will now need to turn their focus onto their next Champions League fixture. They will be aiming for points when they host Horoya at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban next Friday.

@eshlinv