(Reuters) – Rainford Kalaba scored twice as TP Mazembe Englebert of the Democratic Republic of Congo beat Algeria’s MO Bejaia 4-1 at home on Sunday to secure the African Confederation Cup for the first time.
Mazembe, who had held their opponents to a 1-1 draw in Blida in the first leg of the final last weekend, went ahead after just seven minutes through Merveille Bope, who reacted quickest to a free kick from Jean Kasusula which hit the woodwork.
Zambia international Kalaba hammered home a volley on the stroke of halftime to make it 2-0 and scored again just after the hour mark to put the result beyond the Algerians, appearing in their first continental cup final.
Bejaia scored a consolation goal in the 75th minute from Sofiane Khadir but the three-goal advantage was restored within 60 seconds by Jonathan Bolingi.
Mazembe, who won 5-2 on aggregate, add the Confederation Cup to their list of honours after winning the African Champions League in 2015.
They were eliminated early in the defence of their trophy this year and dropped down to the continent’s second tier club competition.
(Reporting by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Toby Davis)
