A final before the final as Pirates eye Confed Cup glory

It’s all about wrapping up the job for Orlando Pirates when they welcome Libya based side Al Ahly Tripoli in the second leg of the semi-finals of the Caf Confederation Cup at the Orlando Stadium on Sunday evening.

Pirates pulled out a surprising good performance away from home when they edged the Libyans 2-0 at the Martyrs of February Stadium a week ago.

The win for Pirates boosted their chances of sauntering into the final, courtesy of goals by Innocent Maela and Goodman Mosele which secured the two away goals advantage.

But, it was all thanks to striker Kwame Peprah, who influenced the game as he contributed to both goals.

The Ghanaian striker hit the crossbar before the ball came through the path of Maela and the left-back scored from a close range header.

With the second goal, Peprah broke through from the right-side of the Bucs’ attack before spotting Mosele’s inside and playing a cross, and the midfielder made no mistake hitting the ball with half-volley to extend Pirates’ lead.

Peprah’s display from the first leg will surely be something the Tripoli players will be very cautious of going into the return leg.

Tripoli have a mountain to climb going into this match, with the Libyan side having to make sure that they don’t concede more goals. Tripoli has to score two goals to level the tie without conceding, or more in order to win the match.

The North African team will be looking up to striker Anis Saltou to help them take the game away from Pirates. The striker has scored six goals since the tournament started, but he was closely monitored by the Pirates’ back four in the first leg.

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Looking at their away record in the tournament from the group stages, Tripoli are not quite good travelers with the side having only won one match in three games, while recording one loss and one draw in the process.

Meanwhile, the Soweto giants were able to register two wins and one draw in the group phase, making the Orlando Stadium a fortress.

The winner of this tie will book a ticket to the final of the tournament set to take place in Nigeria later this year.