Sead Ramovic’s CR Belouizdad defeated Stellenbosch FC 2-0 in the CAF Confederation Cup on Sunday night at Nelson Mandela Stadium with goals from Abdennour Belhocini and Farid El Melali.
Belouizdad scored once in each half to beat Stellenbosch and moved to the top of Group C in the Confed Cup with six points in three matches. Stellenbosch travelled to Algeria to face Belouizdad, looking to gain a massive advantage in Group C of the Confederation Cup.
The match against Belouizdad marked the second outing for Gavin Hunt at the helm after taking over the coaching job a few weeks ago to replace Steve Barker.
Hunt registered his first victory in charge of Stellenbosch after defeating Sekhukhune United 1-0 in the Betway Premiership with a goal from Orlando Pirates loanee Tshegofatso Mabasa.
Interestingly, Mabasa was a notable absentee from Stellies matchday squad against the North African giants as he’s not registered for the Confederation Cup.
In a match against Belouizdad, coached by Sead Ramovic, who made a name for himself in South Africa with TS Galaxy, Stellenbosch struggled with the pace of the match, giving the opponents possession cheaply.
CR BELOUIZDAD FOUND AN EARLY GOAL AGAINST STELLENBOSCH
The Reds dominated the opening exchanges of the match and capitalised on Stellenbosch’s defensive errors to find the back of the net in the 5th minute through Abdennour Belhocini.
In the second stanza, the Winelands-based side struggled to create goal-scoring opportunities, while Belouizdad continued to dominate the match.
With Stellenbosch searching for a goal, Gavin Hunt made triple substitutions, bringing in Wayde Jooste, Thabo Khiba, and Ashley Cupido in place of Langelihle Phili, Sanele Barns, and Muzomuhle Khanyi.
After all the efforts to turn the game on its head, Stellenbosch fell short and suffered a 2-0 defeat against CR Belouizdad, who scored the second goal from a penalty spot in the dying minutes.
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