Liberian international winger Terrence Tisdell is a step away from playing in the group stage of the CAF Confederation Cup after his club, Costa do Sol, reached the playoff round at the expense of South Africa ABSA Premiership club, Cape Town City Football Club.
The Mozambican side made a great comeback over the weekend after beating Cape Town City in South Africa to advance from the first-round qualifiers. Costa do Sol reached the playoff round after winning 2-1 in Cape Town.
Goals from Tisdell and Laquene Renha were enough to crash out Cape Town City, which got its lone goal through South African midfielder, Zukile Kewuti.
Going into the match 1-0 down from the first leg in Mozambique a week ago, Costa do Sol went into the match desperate for a win away from home.
The Maputo-based club began the match on a promising note as they went on scoring in the early minutes. Tisdell scored his second goal in the competition with a header to send Costa do Sol ahead. The former FC Fassell winger headed in Isac de Carvalho’s missed penalty that was hit by the crossbar in the third minute.
An early lead showed that Costa do Sol were out for a win as they went on searching for their second. With a 1-0 lead, the aggregate became 1-1 and the match would go to the penalty spots to decide the winner.
However, Cape Town City got in the driving seat again with an equalizer. Zukile kewuti’s goal leveled the score in a superb finish in the 15th minute. The two sides were unable to register a goal again as they headed to the first half break with one goal each.
Back from the break, Cape Town kept their visitors away from their goal area as they went up to the 80th minute with the score-line remaining 1-1 with was 2-1 on aggregate in favor of the South Africans. Costa do Sol had ten minutes left to restore their hopes as they continued pushing for a second goal.
As the match came to its closing stages, it became more difficult for Costa do Sol as there were few chances for scoring. But the Canarinhos never gave up trying to score again, with their golden moment coming eight minutes to the full 90 minutes. Laquene Renha headed in the ball from a corner.
From preventing their opponents from scoring, it was Cape Town that needed a goal to restore their qualification hopes. Unfortunately for the host, they were unable to get a goal again until the end of the match as Costa do Sol went through to the playoffs round. It ended 2-2 on aggregate but Tisdell’s Costa do Sol advanced on the away goals rule.
With the recent triumph over the South Africans, Costa do Sol is now a step away from playing in the group stage of the 2018 CAF Confederation Cup. The Mozambicans will have to get past one of the losing side from the CAF Champions League first round qualifiers if they are to reach the group stage.
Featured photo courtesy of Terrence Tisdell Â
