Mayo On Target As Ramovic Bags First Win
South African striker Khanyisa Mayo got on the scoresheet as CR Belouizdad cruised to a 3-0 victory over USM Kenchela in the Algerian Ligue 1 on Wednesday night, in a win that kept them in contention for the league title.
The ex-Cape Town City forward opened the scoring in the 28th minute before Rezki Hamroune doubled the lead six minutes into the second half. Bilal Boukerchaoui put the game to bed with a goal in the 87th minute.
Mayo took his tally to four league goals since he switched to North Africa in the off-season.
Overall, in the ongoing campaign, the 26-year-old has netted five goals in 23 appearances across all competitions.
Meanwhile, the result saw Sead Ramovic, who was roped in as the new head coach last week, claim his first win in charge of Belouizdad. The German mentor replaced veteran tactician Abdelkader Amrani at the helm.
Before his maiden league win, the former TS Galaxy boss suffered a defeat at the hands of MC Alger in his first match in the dugout. Ramovic’s men lost 4-3 in a penalty shootout in the Algerian Super Cup final after coming from two goals down to draw 2-2.
The Chababists moved to the top of the Algerian top-flight standings with 29 points gathered after 16 matches played. They are one point ahead of reigning champions MC Alger, who have a game in hand scheduled for Thursday evening.
Aiming to defend their title, the Algiers-based side will welcome JS Kabylie, spearheaded by former Orlando Pirates coach Josef Zinnbauer, who was appointed in January and will be keen to get his tenure off to a winning start.
Fresh from leading Raja Casablanca to an invincible Botola Pro League title and a Throne Cup triumph before moving to Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Wehda, the 54-year-old will fancy his chances of delivering the club’s first championship since the 2007/08 term.
