Leopards in knockout date with Warri

Black Leopards progressed to the last 16 round of the Caf Confederation Cup after a 2-2 draw with St Eloi Lupopo in Lubumbashi, DR Congo, on Friday. Leopards went to Lubumbashi carrying a 4-2 first-leg lead attained in Giyani two weeks ago which saw them win the tie 6-4 on aggregate to set up a date with Warri Wolves of Nigeria. The hosts began the game like a house on fire but it was the visitors who opened the scoring in the 16th minute through David Zulu who had the easiest of the tasks to round the goalkeeper Kakinda Kaniki before tucking the ball into the back of the net. In a bizarre turn of events two Lupopo fans ran from the stands to the Leopards' goal and appeared to sprinkle some liquid on the net and ran off the pitch back to the crowd but no action was taken against the perpetrators. This move did not seem to help Lupopo as the teams went into the break with Leopards leading 1-0. Lidoda Divha were coached by stand-in mentor Abel Makhubele who was in charge of the team as result of Vladislav Heric absence. The Serbian mentor remained in South Africa after drawback from taking a yellow fever vaccination. The second half was a tame event until the 53rd minute when the referee adjudged Moses Kwena to have handled the ball inside the box and awarded the penalty to the hosts. Carrington Gomba stepped up and beat Posnett Omony from the spot kick to put the two teams level. The equaliser drew some life in the Lupopo team and managed to stetch the lead in the 64th minute. Leopards captain Mongezi Bobe’s miscue inside the box was collected by Omony but the referee adjudged that it was a back pass and gave Lupopo an indirect free kick, which substitute Mpiana Motiti thrust home to make it 2-1 for the home team. Then the referee added eight minutes of injury time and Lupopo continued to surge forward in search of more goals. After a defensive mix-up inside the box, the ball fell kindly to substitute Kingston Nkhatha who blasted the ball into the back of the net to put the scores level at 2-2. The linesman however ruled for offside but the referee overruled him and awarded the goal. Leopards will now face Wolves who beat FC Kallon of Sierra Leone 2-1 at the Warri City Stadium.