Ghanaian striker John Antwi missed out on the CAF Confederation Cup crown after Pyramids FC lost 1-0 to RS Berkane in the final in Rabat, Morocco on Sunday.
The 28-year-old climbed off the bench too little too late as the Moroccans scored the only goal of the match in the 15tyh minutes to separate the two teams.
The ball ricocheted off the striker’s foot in the 15th minute, but it didn’t matter at all as it proved to be the golden goal, and perhaps the most important yet in Berkane’s history.
The Moroccans lost last year’s final on penalties to another Egyptian side, Zamalek SC, but they were in no mood of lighting striking on the same spot again as they ensured victory on home soil, seeing the match played at Prince Moulay Abdellah in Rabat.
Berkane had to finish the game with 10 men, just like in last year’s final, when Bakre El Helali was sent off for a dangerous tackle with two minutes left on the clock. Despite the numerical disadvantage, they just but managed to stay afloat.
Debutants Pyramids had come into the final with enviable pedigree, having gone all the way to the last game of the campaign in their first ever season with only two losses from their last 15 matches in the competition. They had also won all their eight away matches this season, prior to the final.
But, they could not finish the job as the experienced Moroccan side held on for valuable victory.
In a feisty opening half, Berkane opened the scoring after quarter of an hour when a shot from inside the box after a goalmouth scramble came off Iajour’s knee and into the net.
Pyramids kept the pressure and had another opportunity in the 62nd minute, but Farouk’s nifty touch off an Abdalla Mohamed freekick but the effort hit the side netting. They made another change, John Antwi coming on for Ahmed Hassan.
The Ghanaian almost made an immediate impact with an angled header off a Farouk cross, but it went just wide.