Brought forward by a week, the second leg of the all-Nigerian semi-final in the CAF Champions League confirmed Heartland FC's progress to the final. Heartland took a commanding lead away to Kano Pillars for Saturday's match and completed a double over their compatriots as they scored a late goal for a 1-0 triumph in the second leg, which ensured a  5-0 aggregate triumph and a place in the final next month.

Heartland FC must wait one week to discover the identity of their opponent, although TP Mazembe Englebert of Congo DR have such a commanding lead over Al Hilal, their place in the final should be as straightforward as was the surprisingly routine nature of Heartland's progression. In last weekend's first leg in Owerri, Heartland had swept aside their opponents in an amazing first half display, netting four goals to effectively finish off the tie after just 45 minutes.

Saturday's second leg in Kano was played against the backdrop of Pillars having fired their Slovenian coach Ivo Sajh during the week and their supporters displaying their frustrations after a perceived timid capitulation in the first leg. Tempers boiled over on Saturday when the game had to be halted for some ten minutes as Pillars supporters threw missiles onto the pitch, but they knew it was a lost cause by the time Uche Agba nailed a stunning 25 yard short into the home team's net for the second leg win.

Heartland have reached the final in their first year of qualifying for the CAF Champions League, a format that CAF first introduced in 1997. However, the club were in the final of the old style Champions Cup 21 years ago when they were still known as Iwuanyanawu Nationale, losing to Algeria's Entente Setif. Now they seek to follow in the footsteps of Enyimba, the only Nigerian club to win the CAF Champions League, having won the club competition in 2003 and 2004.