DStv Premiership side Orlando Pirates will face Raja Casablanca in the quarterfinal of this year’s CAF Confederation Cup.
The Buccaneers made the final eight despite a narrow 1-0 loss to Enyimba 1-0 in Aba on Wednesday night.
Pirates and Raja Casablanca of Morocco were paired together following the draw that took place at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt on Friday afternoon.
Josef Zinnbauer’s men finished second behind Enyimba in group A and will face unbeaten Raja who are yet to concede any goal this season and have won all their group games.
The full quarter-final draw:
CS Sfaxien v JS Kabylie
Orlando Pirates v Raja Club Athletic
Pyramids FC v Enyimba FC
Cotonsport FC v ASC Jaraaf
As confirmed by CAF, the first leg of the pairings will be played on the weekend of 14-16 May while the second leg fixtures will be on the weekend of the 21-23 May.
The draw for the semi-finals will be as follows:
Pyramids or Enyimba vs Orlando Pirates or Raja Atheltic Club
Coton Sport or ASC Jaraaf vs CS Sfaxien or JS Kabylie
The final of the Confederation Cup has also been scheduled for July 10.
Pirates now face a potentially gruesome schedule as they’ll have to balance their league ambitions with their continental hopes. In the league, the Buccaneers are fifth on the log with 39 points, one point behind fourth-placed Moroka Swallows. However, they still have two games in hand and that should come as a cushion to go with.
It would be interesting to see how far Pirates can go in the Confederations Cup, especially given the luck that saw them progress to this stage of the competition.
It comes just a day after Bruce Ramokgadi backed his former side to go all the way in the competition.
“Now that the team has reached the quarter-finals, there’s a big possibility to reach the final of the Confederation Cup. It’s the knockout stages and everything is possible. They played with a depleted team against Enyimba due to injuries but managed to hold on until right at the end when they conceded. It was the goalkeeper’s mistake that led to the goal”
Only time would tell what becomes of that prediction.