The Royal Army has placed one foot firmly in the final after an impressive first leg display.  FAR Rabat secured a commanding two-goal victory over RS Berkane in their TotalEnergies CAF Champions League semi-final at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium. Second-half strikes from Ahmed Hammoudan and Khalid Ait Ourkhan proved to be the decisive moments of the evening, leaving the visitors with a significant mountain to climb ahead of the return leg.

The opening forty-five minutes played out like a  chess match between two sides that knew each other’s secrets all too well. Both teams displayed immense discipline, prioritizing defensive shape and cautious positioning over offensive risk. While the tension in the stadium was palpable, clear-cut scoring opportunities remained scarce, and the teams headed into the tunnel at the interval locked in a scoreless stalemate.

However, the restart saw a transformed FAR Rabat side emerge from the dressing room. The hosts seized control of the narrative with renewed intensity, dictating the tempo of play and gradually pinning Berkane into their own defensive third. This relentless pressure finally cracked the visitors’ resolve in the fifty-eighth minute when Ahmed Hammoudan showcased elite poaching instincts. After a stinging initial effort was parried by the Berkane goalkeeper, Hammoudan was the first to react to the loose ball, calmly slotting it home to send the home supporters into a frenzy and provide the hosts a deserved lead.

The opening goal shifted the psychological momentum entirely in favor of the Royal Army. While Berkane scrambled to regain their composure and find an away goal, FAR Rabat continued to push for a safety margin. Their tactical depth was on full display in the seventy-ninth minute when substitute Khalid Ait Ourkhan made an immediate and devastating impact. Capitalizing on a rare defensive lapse from the Berkane backline, Ait Ourkhan unleashed a clinical low drive from the edge of the area that nestled into the bottom corner of the net, effectively sealing the victory.

RS Berkane now faces a daunting task as they prepare to host the second leg on Saturday, April 18. To keep their continental dreams alive, they must find a way to overturn a two-goal deficit against a Rabat defense that looked impenetrable throughout the first leg. The winner of this intense tie will advance to the final to face either Espérance Sportive de Tunis or Mamelodi Sundowns.