CAIRO— A dramatic late equaliser from Lotfi Boussouar earned Algerian side CR Belouizdad a 1-1 draw away to Al-Masry of Egypt in the first-leg of their CAF Confederation Cup quarter-final clash.
The Egyptian hosts looked set to take a narrow advantage into the second leg after Salah Mohsen converted a second-half penalty, but Boussouar struck deep into stoppage time to leave the tie finely balanced ahead of the return meeting in Algeria, cafonline.com reported.
Al-Masry started brightly and created the first real chances of the contest. Mounder Temine forced a save from goalkeeper Farid Chaal early on after being picked out by Karim El-Eraki.
The hosts continued to threaten from distance, with efforts from Mostafa El-Aash and Mahmoud Hamada testing the Belouizdad defence, while Chaal produced another strong save to deny Temine midway through the half.
Belouizdad’s best opportunity before the interval fell to Mohamed Hammouda, whose close-range attempt drifted narrowly wide following good work by Younes Ouassa.
The breakthrough arrived early in the second half when Temine burst into the penalty area and was brought down by defender Abderrahmane Bekkour, prompting a VAR review. The referee pointed to the spot and Mohsen stepped up to calmly send his right-footed effort into the bottom corner in the 55th minute to give Al Masry the lead.
The Egyptian side nearly doubled their advantage later in the half when Mohsen rose to meet a cross from Abderrahim Deghmoum, only to see his header crash against the crossbar.
Belouizdad pushed forward in search of an equaliser as the match entered its closing stages. Abdennour Belhocini came close when his powerful effort struck the post after a cross from Djaber Kaassis.
The pressure finally paid off in stoppage time. Boussouar unleashed a precise left-footed strike from outside the penalty area that found the bottom corner to silence the home crowd and level the score at 1-1.
The late goal gives Belouizdad a valuable result heading into the second leg, while Al-Masry will feel frustrated after letting their lead slip in the dying moments.
With the tie now perfectly poised, both sides will head into the decisive return leg knowing a place in the semi-finals of the CAF Confederation Cup remains within reach.
