Raja Casablanca were held to a 0-0 stalemate by AS Vita Club in the 2018 Caf Confederation Cup Group A match at the Stade Mohamed V in Casablanca on Sunday.
As a result, Moroccan outfit Raja and DR Congo giants Vita are placed second and third respectively on the Group A table after match day one.
The home side threatened first through DR Congo international Lema Mabida, who was playing against some of his national teammates.
The midfielder unleashed a shot from range which was deflected and Vita goalkeeper Lukong Bongaman made a comfortable save 12 minutes into the game.
Raja controlled the match and they nearly took the lead in the 22nd minute following a mistake by Bongaman.
The shot-stopper slipped with Mouhssine Iajour pressing him, but he recovered quickly and got the ball out of play before the Raja attacker could pounce.
The last chance of the first half fell for Mahmoud Benhalib in the 42nd minute following some good work by Iajour.
The young forward placed his effort wide of the target as Vita, who won the Caf Champions League in 1973, survived a scare.
Vita looked solid in the early stages of the second half and they looked dangerous on the counter-attack with Chadrack Lukombe leading their attack.
Zakaria Hadraf tried to set up Benhalib with a cross in the 69th minute, but Bongaman reacted quickly and snatched the ball.
The momentum was with the home side in the dying minutes of the game, but they were very wasteful.
Second-half substitute Abdelilah Hafidi hit the side-netting from a promising position in the 76th minute.
The attacker had another chance to grab a late winner for Raja with nine minutes left, but he fired straight at Bongaman, who denied the Raja attacker.
Eddy Ngoyi, who was introduced in the 89th minute, was sent off in stoppage time for a dangerous challenge and Vita were reduced to 10 men.
However, Vita were able to defend well until Senegalese match referee Maguette N’Diaye blew the final whistle and the game ended in a 0-0 draw.
Line-ups:
Raja: Zniti, Achchakir, Jbira, Boutayeb, Obbadi, Mabidi (El Ouadi 73′), Hadraf (Khaldane 78′), Khadrouf (Hafidi 56′), Lakohal, Iajour, Benhalib.
Vita: Lukong, Bangala, Munganga, Bompunga, Ngonda, Shabani, Tonombe, Ngoma, Ngudikama (Batezadio 66′), Makusu, Lukombe (Ngoyi 89′).
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