Mouloudia Algiers defeated arch-rivals Mouloudia Oran in a five-goal thriller to move joint top on 19 points. But the Algiers club have a better goal difference to head the standings.

Three goals were scored in the last 10 minutes of the game with the Oran side launching a late comeback after conceding two goals.

Entente Setif are one point behind in third after their 3-1 win over RC Kouba, while Jeunesse Sportive Kabylie are in fourth place, after a slender 1-0 win over CA Bordj Bou Arreridj.

Real Bamako climbed to the top of the standings with a 8-0 trouncing of army side Usfas. The scoreline could have been higher, as they hit the post four times.

Usfas new coach Sambala Sissoko said the heavy defeat was due to a depleted squad, as only one first team player was in the side.

The other first team players were participating in the Malian military championship.

Maranatha defeated bottom side Abou Osse 2-0 to extend their lead by two points.

Maranatha, who have 16 points, are closely followed by the army side Dynamic Togolais, who failed to reduce the gap by drawing 2-2 with Etoile Filante in one of the weekend's derbies.

AS Togo Port are joint second with Dynamic Togolais after beating Togo Telecom 1-0.

Raja are struggling to make an impact

Two newly-promoted sides are causing a stir in the league as they recover from previous set backs.

Mouloudia Oujda continue to make a dramatic climb up the chart with a 1-0 away win at Renaissance Settat. The victory puts Oujda in second position, one point behind leaders COD Meknes.

Meknes maintained their lead thanks to a 1-0 win over KAC Kenitra.

ASS Sale, the other newly promoted side, defeated Jeunesse Massira 2-0 on Sunday to move to seventh place after weeks in the bottom ranks, while Olympic de Khourigba are temporarily in third position with 10 points after edging out Ittihad Tanger 1-0.

Forces Armee Royal are fourth after sharing the points with Ittihad Khemisset.

Title-holders Hassania Agadir, who have five points - and are in a modest 10th place - have a game in hand against Moghreb Fes.

Popular sides Wydad Casablanca and their city rivals Raja are behind the top seven teams.

Saint Michel United have been crowned league champions for the third consecutive season. It is their sixth title overall in just ten years of existence.

The champions were handed the title with three games to go, after their closes pursuers Anse Reunion drew 1-1 with Northern Dynamo on Sunday.

Michel had taken the advantage earlier at the weekend with a 3-0 victory over Plaisance.

The league kick-off has been rescheduled from this weekend to 1 November due to a lack of sponsors.

National First Division League Management, the body running the competition, said the delay is also due to the pending club protests from last season, which would affect the promotion and relegation of certain sides.

Highlanders are in second place

Amazulu have taken a four point lead after a 3-0 win over Black Rhinos on Sunday.

The defeat has given Rhinos the hard task of catching up with the league leaders with just five games left in the season.

Lancashire Steel and Sundowns are playing a role in Amazulu's championship ambitions.

Current champions Highlanders, in second place with 39 points, lost 1-0 to the relegation-threatened Lancashire, while Sundowns upset third-placed Dynamos 3-1.

It was the first home defeat suffered by Dynamos since May 2001.

Fullone (far left) is now Sundown's technical director

Orlando Pirates coach Roy Barreto has been sacked, following his side's 2-1 defeat against Manning Rangers in the first round of the lucrative Coca Cola Cup.

The dismissal follows a string of poor results in the new season, even though the Zimbabwean-born coach guided Pirates to last season's league title.

Meanwhile, Sundowns coach Oscar Fullone has been moved 'upstairs' to the post of technical director.

The Argentine has struggled to come to terms with demands of the South African league and the club's officials said they had no alternative but to move him after the team's poor start.

Khabo Zondo, Jomo Sono's deputy at Korea 2002, is tipped to be their new coach.