COSAFA club side Orlando Pirates booked their place in the final of the 2015 CAF Confederation Cup on Sunday with a thrilling 4-3 victory over Egyptian giants Al Ahly, claiming the tie 5-3 on aggregate.

Pirates had a slender 1-0 advantage from last weekend’s first leg but were 2-0 down midway through the second half as Malick Evouna scored twice only to fight their way back in a dramatic finish and snatch victory deep in stoppage time.

Thabo Rakhale applied the final touch to inflict a rare home defeat on the Cairo giants, who were forced to play in front of a restricted crowd in Suez, some 130km east of the capital, by Egyptian security authorities fearful of fan violence.

The Soweto side now met Etoile Sahel of Tunisia in next month’s two-legged final, denying the mouth-watering possibility of Ahli taking on their arch rivals Zamalek in an African club competition final for the first time.

Ahli and Zamalek have dominated the winning of continental club titles for decades but Etoile held out on Saturday to edge Zamalek 5-4 on aggregate despite going down 3-0 in the second leg in Cairo, also played with a limited crowd.

The Confederation Cup is Africa’s secondary club trophy, competed for by cup winners and team finishing third in selected leagues.

This year’s event featured an abnormally strong field as clubs eliminated early in the Champions League dropped down to play in the Confederation Cup.