Egypt's Enppi kept their slim hopes alive of qualifying for the semi-finals of the African Confederation Cup, reports Abeer Anwar Enppi kept alive their continental ambitions with a 4-0 win over Santos FC of Angola on Saturday in the penultimate Group A match of the Confederation Cup. It was Enppi's second successive win of the campaign, following a 3-1 victory over AS Vita Club of the DR Congo. Striker Ahmed Raouf set the tone for the wide- margin with a first half brace, scoring on the half hour mark and seven minutes later. Nader El-Ashri increased the tally two minutes from time before Ivorian-import De Foneye Vincent sealed victory with a superb effort on stoppage time. Following the victory, Enppi jumped two places to the second spot with six points, same as Santos FC but with a superior goal average. Entente Setif of Algeria and AS Vita Club share the top on nine points. On Saturday, 19 September, Enppi will meet Setif in Algeria and Santos are due to play AS Vita. Only the two best placed clubs from the group advances to the next round. Victories by Nigerian champions Bayelsa United, Enppi and AS Vita Club ensured that battle continues till the ultimate matches slated for two weeks. In Group A, Entente Setif of Algeria, AS Vita Club and Enppi remain in the hunt for the two places as Angola's Santos FC have no realistic chance of advancing due to their poor goals aggregate whilst Stade Malien of Mali, Primeiro de Agosto of Angola and Bayelsa are the contestants in Group B. In Group B, Bayelsa maintained their winning spree whilst Stade Malien of Mali remain unbeaten. Bayelsa thumped Egyptian side Haras Al-Hodoud 2-0 in Oghara whilst Stade Malien held Angolan side Primeiro de Agosto to a barren draw, both on Saturday. Haras are now out of the championship, having notched only four points. AS Vita Club completed a hat-trick of home wins at the group phase with a 2-1 victory over Entente Setif. The hard-fought result served as a major booster to the semi-final hopes of the 1973 African champions as it moved them on the same points as Group A leaders Entente Setif. In Group B, Stade Malien lead with nine points and one game remaining. Primeiro de Agosto have eight points, Bayelsa six and Haras four. Meantime, Nigerian duo Kano Pillars and Heartland FC, and Al-Hilal of Sudan clinched semi-final places in the CAF Champions League after matches of the group phase during the weekend. Pillars and Hilal are in Group A while Heartland is the only member from Group B to advance to the last four of the prestigious and premier club competition. Pillars beat Zesco United of Zambia 3-1 in Kano. Hilal beat arch-rivals Al-Merrikh 3-1 while Heartland licked two-time winners TP Mazembe of DR Congo 2-0 in Owerri. It leaves Group B with the final qualifier for the semis to be determined in Lubumbashi when TP Mazembe hosts Etoile du Sahel of Tunisia in a fortnight. In Group B, Heartland became the first club to qualify for the last four with the victory over Mazembe. First half efforts from former Dream Eagles striker John Owoeri (36th minute) and Uche Agba (39th minute) proved enough for the "Naze Millionaires." The victory, sweet revenge for Heartland who lost the reverse fixture in Lubumbashi by the same margin, moved them to 10 points in Group B, a point richer than two-time winners TP Mazembe. This is the first time in the history of the CAF Champions League that two clubs from Africa's most populous country have reached the last four.
