Mouaki Dadi came off the bench to score at the stroke of 90 minutes as JS Kabylie sailed into the quarter finals of the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League with a 1-0 win over Petro de Luanda at home.
The game seemed to be headed for a draw, but the Algerian side was rewarded for their industry in the final 10 minutes of the game to clinch the second and only remaining quarter final slot from Group A.
The win took them to 10 points and on top of the group ahead of defending champions Wydad, whom they face in the final match day after the international break.
Petro, semi-finalists from last season, remain third with four points, and their final match against AS Vita Club in Kinshasa will be merely to cement a strong finish.
Mouaki who had come in after 72 minutes scored a well taken goal, breaking into the box before planting the ball low into the net. The goal had come after a period of pressure from the home side.
JSK had a brilliant chance to grab a goal when the Petro goalie punched Mouaki’s shot into Massinissa Nait’s path at the edge of the six yard box, but the latter blazed the rebound over.
In the 89th minute, they had another glorious chance when Kouceila Boualia landed the ball inside the box, but he could not execute a goal.
Just like the first leg, which also ended in a barren draw, it was a tough and closely contested duel. But Petro were off to a fast start and after 27 seconds had their first chance at goal when Anderson Cruz fired to the side netting after a cross from the right was defended into his path.
In the second half, there were a few chances as well. In the 65th minute, Juba Oukaci forced the Petro keeper to a neat save after his shot from distance was deflected.
On the other end, skipper Tiago Azulao came close when he flew in to try head a cross from a freekick, but his effort went wide.
