Advantage Setif in final as hot-shot Ziaya strikes

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JOHANNESBURG, Nov 29, 2009 (AFP) - Prolific scorer Abdelmalek Ziaya snatched a brace to give Algerian club Entente Setif a 2-0 first-leg advantage over Malian visitors Stade Malien Sunday in the African Confederation Cup final.

Ziaya, the 25-year-old leading scorer this year in the second-tier African club championship, raised his tally to 15 goals from as many matches for the 'Black Eagles'.

He converted a 15th-minute penalty to break the deadlock before a capacity 30,000 crowd at the May 8 Stadium in the north-east university town of Setif and added a potentially crucial second 10 minutes from full-time.

The goals can only enhance his chances of breaking into the national squad which this month secured a place at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa after a 23-year absence from the international football showpiece.

Entente are seeking a first African trophy since 1988 when they overcame a narrow first-leg deficit to overwhelm Iwuanyanwu Nationale of Nigeria 4-1 on aggregate in the African Champions Cup.

Stade reached the first final of the same competition 23 years before, losing 2-1 to Oryx Douala of Cameroon in a one-off match in Ghana, but since then have made little impact in numerous African appearances until this year.

Setif lacked star goalkeeper Faouzi Chaouchi, French midfielder Mehdi Kacem and striker Rafik Bouderbal because they were not registered for a competition won by Tunisian side CS Sfaxien for the last two years.

Suspended defender Moussa Coulibaly and injured midfielder Cheikh Toure were missing from the Stade line-up as they sought to become the first club from the landlocked west African country to win a major African club football title.

The teams have little time to recover as the traditional two-week break between games has been reduced to one with the second leg scheduled for December 5 in a 50,000-seat Bamako stadium.