It has been an up and down 2021-22 season to say the least for RS Berkane and manager Florent Ibengé. Winning the 2021-22 CAF Confederation Cup is certainly a moment to be proud of but inconsistent performances in the Botola Pro season saw the Orange Boys conclude an underachieving league campaign in sixth place, meaning they will be unable to have an opportunity to defend their Confederation Cup title.
However RSB will have an opportunity to make it two trophies this season after defeating Youssoufia Berrechid in the Coupe du Trône semifinals on Tuesday, winning a penalty kick shootout after the teams drew 2-2. Facing a team that suffered relegation from the top division, Berkane encountered plenty of resistance even after Charki El Bahri opened the scoring in the first half by heading in a corner kick. Karim El Hachimi’s brilliant curled effort leveled the match soon after halftime for CAYB and RSB needed a penalty kick save from Amine El Ouaad to keep the match even heading into extra time.
Extra time had plenty of action with a Video Assistant Referee review leading to a penalty kick late in the second half which Burkina Faso national team center back Issoufou Dayo converted. Only two minutes later CAYB’s Saïd Aoufir made up for his missed penalty kick earlier in sensational fashion by providing a bicycle kick finish to level the match. However in the end RSB kept their nerve in the shootout and Dayo converted the winning spot kick for a spot in the final, where Berkane will face the winner of Wednesday’s other semifinal between Wydad AC and FUS Rabat.
Highlights from Tuesday’s cup clash are below as well as the penalty kick shootout.
RS Berkane 2-2 Youssoufia Berrechid (RSB win 4-3 on penalties)