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Pirates to face Krol's former team

Orlando Pirates will face Rudi Krol's former club in their pursuit of the only silverware left for them to win this season.

Pirates reached the semi-finals of the CAF Confederation Cup after defeating Tanzanian giants Simba SC on Sunday evening at Orlando Stadium.

The Bucs will now face Libyan club Al Ahli Tripoli to decide who will reach the final.  

Al Ahli – who have never played South African opposition before – overcame fellow Libyan rivals Al-Ittihad 1-0 on Sunday night to win the tie on aggregate after the first leg finished goalless.

The Libyans were coached by Pirates' treble-winning coach Krol between September 2014 and March 2015 and now have Fathi Al-Jabal from Tunisia at the helm.

They feature experienced goalkeeper Muhammad Nashnoush who played at the 2014 CHAN finals hosted by South Africa and have rising Tunisian star Ayoub Ayed  

To reach this stage they came out tops in Group A with 13 points after four wins, one defeat and one draw – which is exactly what Pirates got in topping Group B which featured Libyan club Al-Ittihad.  

Pirates lost away to Al-Ittihad and then drew at home. 

Al Ahli entered the Confederations Cup after winning the Libyan Cup last year and will be the third Libyan club that Pirates face in this competition with The Bucs having also met Al Ahli Benghazi in last season's edition.

Against Al Ahli Benghazi, Pirates drew away and won at home.  

Al Ahli Tripoli is on their best run ever in CAF competitions having matched their feat of reaching the 1984 CAF Cup Winners' Cup.

Their best showing in the Champions League was reaching the quarter-finals five years ago.

The two semi-finals legs will be played on May 8 and May 15 with Pirates traveling to the North African country first.  

Al Ahli are the second most successful club in Libyan football history behind Al-Ittihad.

Congolese heavyweights TP Mazembe face Moroccan club RSB Berkane in the other semi-final.

Of interest is the fact that Berkane have Congolese coach Florent Ibenge at the helm.  

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