Confederation Cup: Egypt's Pyramids first to progress

The Confederation Cup is the second-tier continental club competition for Africa

Pyramids overcame Egyptian rivals Al Masry 2-0 to become the first team to progress to the quarter-finals of the Confederation Cup.

The victory means that Pyramids have now won all four of their pool matches so far and are guaranteed to finish top of Group A.

Group D saw two hat-tricks as Hassania Agadir's Karim el Berkaoui and Stanley Dimbga of Enyimba both helped their sides to comfortable wins.

With two more group games left to play the other 15 teams can all claim one of the remaining seven quarter-finals spots.

Burkina Faso winger Eric Traore broke the deadlock for Pyramids after 21 minutes and Nabil Emad ensured his team kept a perfect Group A record.

Nigerian club Enugu Rangers' poor campaign continued as they were held to a 1-1 draw by visitors Nouadhibou of Mauritania.

After holding Nouadhibou in Nouakchott two weeks ago, Rangers were expected to win in Enugu and apply pressure to Masry in the chase for the second qualifying slot.

But Nouadhibou, the first Mauritanian club to reach the group stage of an African club competition, took the lead during the first half through leading scorer Yassin el Welly.

Ibrahim Olawoyin levelled from a 68th-minute spot-kick, but the home team failed to score again and trail Masry by four points.

The Group A results mean Pyramids have 12 points, Masry six and Enugu and Nouadhibou two each.

Renaissance Berkane of Morocco stayed top of Group B despite losing 1-0 in Kinshasa to DC Motema Pembe of the DR Congo.

The only goal of the game was scored by William Luezi after 69 minutes.

Zambia's Zanaco beat visiting ESAE of Benin 3-0 thanks to three second-half goals in the the other Group B match.

Ernest Mbewe breaking the deadlock nine minutes after the break and then Rodgers Kola adding a brace to seal the win.

The results mean Berkane and Motema Pembe both have seven points but the Moroccans stay top thanks to their better head-to-head record.

Zanaco have six points from their four games while ESAE are bottom with just a single point.

Horoya of Guinea stayed top of Group C by forcing a 0-0 draw at second-place Djoliba of Mali in Bamako.

Libya's Al Nasr of Libya overcame Bidvest Wits of South Africa 2-1 in the other Group C game played in the Egyptian capital Cairo due to the security concerns in Libya.

An own goal from Zimbabwean Terrence Dzvukamanja on 49 minutes gave Al Nasr the lead before Muhanad Alaeeli doubled that lead on the hour mark.

Haashim Domingo pulled one back for Wits with 15 minutes left,

Horoya have eight points, while Djoliba and Al Nasr both have five leaving Wits bottom of Group C on two.

The eight goals in the two Group D games included two hat-tricks.

El Berkaoui scored his in just nine minutes as Hassania Agadir defeated San Pedro of the Ivory Coast 3-0.

After a goalless first half in Agadir, 24-year-old Berkaoui broke the deadlock on 50 minutes.

He struck twice more before the hour and the result confirmed Agadir as favourites to win Group D and face a quarter-final against the runners-up in one of the other three.

A few hours earlier Stanley Dimbga also scored a treble as Enyimba of Nigeria swept aside Paradou of Algeria 4-1 in Aba.

Hiss first came in the 15th minute and he netted again just a minute after Victor Mbaoma scored to earn Enyimba a 3-0 half-time advantage.

Dimbga completed his hat-trick in the 77th minutes before Abdelhak Kadri claimed a consolation goal for the Algerians with a minute left to play.

Agadir have 10 points, Enyimba six, Paradou four and San Pedro two with two match days remaining, and the top two finishers advance to the knockout stage.

Confederation Cup results 12 January:

Group A

• Enugu Rangers (Nigeria) 1-1 Nouadhibou (Mauritania)

• Pyramids (Egypt) 2-0 Al Masry (Egypt)

Group B

• DC Motema Pembe (DR Congo) 1-0 Renaissance Berkane (Morocco)

• Zanaco (Zambia) 3-0 ESAE (Benin)

Group C

• Al Nasr (Libya) 2-1 Bidvest Wits (South Africa) Note: Match moved from Libya to Egypt for security reasons

• Djoliba (Mali) 0-0 Horoya (Guinea)

Group D

• Enyimba (Nigeria) 4-1 Paradou (Algeria)

• Hassania Agadir (Morocco) 3-0 San Pedro (Ivory Coast)