It was their Ivorian import striker Kipre Tcheche who stunned the visitors with a rare hat-trick in CAF tournaments when he opened the floodgates after 22 minutes. He tapped in a goal-bound cross courtesy of Ramadhan Singano.
It was a good game for Azam as skipper John Bocco increased the tally after 42 minutes when he made full use of Tcheche’s pass. Bocco’s strike was too much for Bidvest Wits goalie Barr Jethren.
However, the visitors responded barely few seconds ahead of the half time mark when Jabulani Shongwe stunned Azam’s first choice goalkeeper Aishi Manula with a thunderbolt just outside the 18 yard area. The teams progressed into the dressing rooms with hosts Azam leading by 2-1 goals.
Nine minutes into the second half Tcheche was on target again when he made full use of Salum Aboubakar’s pass to round Bivest goalkeeper before slotting home the ball for Azam’s third. Mosiatlhaga Kosiekante reduced the margin when he dodged defender Aggrey Moris before shooting straight to beat Manula.
Thceche concluded his hat-trick of the day with a blockbuster three minutes to time as Azam extended lead by 4-2 goals.
However, Azam celebrations were short-lived when Botes Henrico scored the third for the visitors deep into stoppage time.
Azam have now progressed into the second round of the Confederation Cup as they are lined up against Tunisia’s Esperance in the first leg to be played in Dar es Salaam on April 9.
Azam had beaten the South African team by comprehensive 3-0 goals during the first leg played in South Africa last week.
Azam line-up:
Aishi Manula, John Bocco, Shomari Kapombe, Ramadhani Singano, Aggrey Moris, Serge Wawa, Erasto Nyoni, Kipre Bolou, Himid Mao, Salum Aboubakar and Kipre Tchetche. Additional reporting by Japhet Kazenga.
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