CR Belouizdad secured a morale-boosting 3-1 win over reigning champions MC Alger in the Algiers Derby ahead of facing Orlando Pirates.
Pirates meet the Algerian giants in their CAF Champions League group stage opener next Tuesday at the Stade du 5 Juillet.
And they managed to secure a much-need victory on Wednesday evening after a disastrous start to the new season which saw head coach Corentin Martins lose his job and replaced by 68-year-old Abdelkader Amrani for another stint at the club.
With only one win in seven league games prior to the derby, Algeria international Andy Delort, their marquee off-season signing opened the scoring and CRB managed to stage a comeback with the iconic Islam Slamini, Abdelraouf Benguit and Naoufel Khacef scoring.
It moved them into 10th place in the league, six points off league leaders USM Alger, and they did it with Khanyisa Mayo as an unused substitute as his indifferent start to life in North Africa continues after a club-record $800,000 transfer from Cape Town City.
