On Wednesday at the Stade du 5 Juillet in Algiers, Algerian club USM Alger defeated Ivorian champions ASEC Mimosas 2-0 in the semifinal second leg of the CAF Confederation Cup.
Khaled Bousseliou scored in the first half, and Ismail Belkacemi, a substitute, scored a late goal, securing an aggregate victory for USMA after the first leg ended in a scoreless draw in Ivory Coast.
USM Alger will face Tanzanian champions Young Africans SC in the final, with the first leg taking place in Dar es Salaam on May 28.
Around 60,000 supporters were present at the stadium, and the atmosphere remained loud throughout. Although ASEC did well to hold out in the early stages, a loss of focus allowed USMA to find the opening goal in the 28th minute. Bousseliou received a quick throw-in on the left wing, cut past ASEC defender Anthony Tra Bi, and finished low past goalkeeper Charles Folly.
ASEC regrouped during halftime and posed more questions for the USMA defense in the second half. Inside three minutes, the hosts nearly conceded in disastrous fashion when USMA goalkeeper Oussama Benbout came out to intercept a pass, and his clearance ricocheted off his own defender and just wide of the goal.
Les Mimos continued to push and had a decent shout for a penalty kick when Salifou Diarrassouba was taken down in the 73rd minute, but referee Pierre Atcho waved play on.
In the 80th minute, the hosts sealed the victory. A long ball from Benbout bounced towards the ASEC penalty area, and Belkacemi, who had just come on as a substitute, snuck in between Folly and his defense to collect the ball and skillfully loop a shot over the keeper.
