Ramovic’s Belouizdad Sink Stellenbosch | Soccer Laduma

Photo by Philip Maeta/Gallo Images

Stellenbosch FC dropped to second spot in their CAF Confederation Cup group after losing 2-0 to Sead Ramovic’s CR Belouizdad on Sunday night.

CAF Confederation Cup

Result: CR Belouizdad 2-0 Stellenbosch FC

Date: 25 January 2026

Venue: Nelson Mandela Stadium

Stellenbosch coach Gavin Hunt made a few changes after the midweek Betway Premiership action, as goalkeeper Oscarine Masuluke, Muzomuhle Khanyi Sanele Barns and Thabo Moloisane were handed starts, while new signing Tshegofatso Mabasa was not included in the match-day squad.

However, the South Africans got off to a poor start when Belouizdad opened the scoring after just five minutes courtesy of a first-time strike from Abdennour Belhocini after some good work by Lofti Boussouar.

Stellenbosch looked to get back on level terms but had to wait until the 30-minute mark as the lively Lingelihle Phili carved out some space for himself before unleashing a powerful strike that sailed inches wide of the upright.

There was some more goal-mouth action in the latter stages of the first half as Barns saw his attempted lob cleared off the line by a Belouizdad defender, while Masuluke came to Stellenbosch’s rescue at the other end with a superb save to keep the scoreline at 1-0 before the break.

With Belouizdad still shading the statistics and scoreline, Hunt responded with a triple change on the hour mark to freshen up the side, as Thato Khiba, Wayde Jooste and Ashley Cupido replaced Phili, Barns and Khanyi for the final 30 minutes of the second half.

The home side, however, almost doubled the lead with four minutes left on the clock when Abdelraouf Benguit’s speculative effort from a bizarre angle crashed against the crossbar before Mohamed Ben Hammouda headed wide of the upright from point-blank range a few minutes later.

The Algerians made the points safe in second-half stoppage time after being awarded a penalty for Henri Stanic’s foul on Ben Hammouda in the box. Farid El Melali stepped up and calmly converted beyond Masuluke to seal victory and top spot in the group.